Consistently Consistent
If you want to be successful in any area of your life, it’s important that you understand, accept, and embrace a few truths. There is no such thing as a “get rich quick scheme,” there are no magical fitness pills, and there is no instantaneous magical methodology that will bring you happiness, health, and wealth. Success is a marathon and not a sprint. It is more important that you become great at consistency than to become consistently great.
Long term success is achieved and enjoyed by average people who perform consistently over a long period of time. Whenever you hear of anyone becoming an overnight success, it is likely that either they were working for years behind the scenes, and they have just come to the public’s attention, or it is inevitable that their success won’t last.
If you examine the recidivism rate among our prison population or the bankruptcy, divorce, or suicide rate of lottery winners, or even the dismal statistics of people who have experienced rapid weight loss regaining every pound and a few more, it is obvious that any change in our lives is unsustainable if we don’t have a corresponding change in our minds.
If you examine studies of self-made millionaires, the overwhelming majority compiled their wealth over many years and formed lifelong habits of spending less than they earn and investing diligently. Unfortunately, we all seem to gravitate toward the flashy, quick fix which purportedly will solve every problem in our lives. Any significant long-term change in your world will begin in your mind. The media and those trying to sell us panacea products want us to think that any lack of success in our lives is simply a matter of not having the missing element, magic pill, or secret system.
Please understand that once you have made a decision to change your life, and you have changed your mind, there may be external tools or knowledge you need to obtain. But any tools or knowledge without a corresponding change of mind will fail to bring you the long term results you seek.
I can hear you asking, “Jim, if what you’re saying is true, why hasn’t anyone told me and how come there are so many people offering quick fix solutions?” It is very simple. Working hard, staying focused, being diligent, and practicing patience aren’t attractive and don’t sell well on infomercials during late night cable television.
The fable of the tortoise and the hare applies really well to our efforts toward success. We all enjoy hearing about or reading about the flashy, exciting, record-breaking speed and quick progress of the hare; but inevitably, there are far more tortoises in the winner’s circle. Any success that you cannot maintain is a form of failure. If you observe those who worship at the altar of New Year’s resolutions, you will find people who can undertake starvation diets, Herculean exercise programs, or scorched earth-deprivation personal finance budgets for a few weeks; but those who succeed are the people among us who create success patterns and habits that become a natural part of their everyday lives.
As you go through your day today, seek consistency more than greatness, and you will enjoy both.
Today’s the day!