Megan Guilbert, ProSeed Forward Life Coaching, LLC
We all talk about consistency, consistency, consistency and rightly so. Becoming consistent is what helps people build habits, routines, and achieve goals.
One could argue that discipline builds consistency because if you practice self-discipline you are consistent with your daily actions, even on the days you don’t want to do it. However, I would argue that consistency compliments discipline. Think about exercising, if you make it a goal to do some form of physical activity 7x a week for at least 30 minutes and stay consistent with it, you are also being disciplined with it. Staying consistent means being disciplined enough to do that 30 minutes of exercise even on the days that you don’t really want to do it or when your schedule throws you a curve ball and you have to shift the 30 minutes of exercise from the afternoon to the evening, etc.
Let’s continue using exercise as the example – if the goal is to exercise 7 days per week for 30 minutes and you are maintaining that discipline and consistency with it – you are winning the race. Why? Because you are actually exercising 7 days a week for 30 minutes like you say you would, you are feeling good, you are moving your body, and improving your health. The list could continue as to why it’s good, but the idea is that you are winning YOUR race. You are working toward and accomplishing your goal daily. At the end of each day, if you exercised for 30 minutes, then you crossed your finish line with a WIN for the day.
Although consistency may help you win the race, SACRIFICES are what ignite that process. Sacrifices are the reason you are able to become more disciplined and consistent, which allow you to win your race. When working toward something or adding something new into your routine, most of the time you have to sacrifice something else to get the full benefit of the new activity and/or to win the race.
Continuing with the exercise example; the only way to allow space to become disciplined and consistent with exercise is through sacrificing the ‘other’. It means making the sacrifice in the evening to watch another episode of your tv show and instead go to sleep earlier, to wake up earlier, so you can get your exercise in. It might mean sacrificing drinks with coworkers after work to, instead, go the gym for that 30 minutes of exercise. These are the sacrifices you might have to make in order to accomplish your goal.
Without these sacrifices, you can’t become consistent and disciplined – meaning you can’t win the race. That is why the sacrifices are what ignite the process, because it ignites the ability to win. It makes room for the goal in your day to day life. Sacrifices ignite the process toward becoming more consistent and disciplined in your race!
ProSeed Forward Life Coaching, LLC 