Consistency – key to success.

There are many roads leading to the destination of success, being consistent is the most basic of them.

No business school, technology institute and university can teach the fundamentals of success, by being consistent and sincere to whatever an individual does at work and in personal life. Being consistent with integrity, being realistic, humble & being unique of yourself - far valuable than Ivy League degrees.

Whether in personal relationship, workplace relationship, networking, works on projects and in routine workflows – without consistency, nothing ever could be accomplished. The meaningful, regular, steady and tenacious efforts are the key towards anything. We all could observe around us, highly talented, qualified and capable individual/s not taking to the pathways of long-term success mere due to missing consistency in efforts, intentions and determinations. Consistency supersedes motivation, as motivation could an emotional bust whereby consistency is permanent habit of determination to deliver. As old classic maxim goes “After all, Rome was not built in a day, and it certainly wasn’t built on motivation alone”

Consistency is not about competing and conquering. It isn’t about defeating and delivering better than others either. Consistency is essentially about maintaining the efforts, energy and efficiency everyday – without losing the enthusiasm. The habit of being consistent, being regular, being regimented are powerful enabler for individual’s personal and professional successfulness. In the very same context, Aristotle says, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” He had profoundly, far more eloquently than I ever could ever understand, emphasized about the value of being consistent. This is a valuable lesson in life that I have started to comprehend and appreciate even more as I have been aging and attainting maturity.

Literary, consistency सामंजस्य (Hindi), استحکام (Urdu), is to be understood as, “The quality of always being the same, doing things in the same way, having the same standards” (Longman). “Consistency is harmony, regularity, or steady continuity: free from variation or contradiction.” (Merriam-Webster)

We all remember primary school book story of “Tortoise and the Hare” - how slow, consistent, and persistent effort pays off over a quick burst of energy. The hare is a perfect example of a slow burn. A slow burn that builds up to something meaningful, more rewarding than we could initially believe. Consistency has been my constant mantra in current stage of career and life. Through consistent repetitions, we rewire our brains, develop behaviors and embrace habits that make us do things naturally as circadian rhythm.

At the early stage of my career, I had no firm habit of being consistent with my self-studies, physical exercises and not even to my social commitments. I should admit candidly, I had to work & struggle hard to improve, get rid of bad habits of being irregular, sporadic and moody. As they say “Freedom teaches the discipline best”, and that has really worked with me. I did enjoy freedom to do whatever I could – that gave me sense of discipline, accountability to my own actions and inculcated self-control to choose, decide and accept nothing other than the best for my faith and future.

Other than for instant time-lines & cut-offs, what else could push an individual to deliver and be done? If an individual completes the deliverables at any day, what more could be undertaken to ensure the similar flows of pace and passion be there towards KPIs and deliverables for being successful and staying ahead than others? Generally perceived in our industry, community and in society that “I am better than others”, and “I am doing best and have fared well, & done far better than others” and etc. Albeit, in reality my habits and achievements could be far below than many others, yet I would never admit that. This phenomenon isn’t unique with me, rather quite general in our time.

The power of small, tiny, regular & unbreakable flows of efforts – is life transforming. Our habits make us or break us, and that is what consistency is all about. Do not make those icy-height expeditions’ long-term goals. If you can’t believe you can do it, you would most likely will not get that done. Start by believing in yourself, and then being with making goal for the day, set up objectives for momentary actions and follow it up with a plan. The plans have to be something you could act on instantly and in no-time. Actions produce momentum, momentum generates energy, energy keeps you charged, charges keep you in actions – as in circular motion.  If the action-momentum cycle breaks, it will hard to maintain consistency, due to reasons of distractions, external influences and other unseen forces.  Get into the habits of goal setting and planning. Even for the smallest of things. That will help build discipline, regime of momentum, and consistency — all at once. Start with the basics because that’s what needs repairing. Once the foundation is strong — nothing will ever be too far and difficult to accomplish. Every great achievement is accomplished through small, tiny, light and consistent efforts.

Millard Drexler, former CEO and current chairman of the J. Crew Group, opines that customers might not always be right, but they have certain expectations that must be met for any organization to successfully existing. He says, “People like consistency. Whether it’s a store or a restaurant, they want to come in and see what you are famous for.” Consistency helps lay that groundwork, which will bring stakeholders to team for the work they expect to be done, because it’s the work you all have shown you can do well. People turn to your company to buy a particular product, with basic expectation in the form of consistency. You walk to an old eatery in old bazaar of Sabkha, Diera, Dubai – to eat a particular taste of Biryani, expecting that you would get same old aroma and distinct taste as you were getting in the past, that’s what consistency is profoundly about.

We all have those days when we don't feel like doing anything. Maybe we had a tough day at work, or we could just feel lazy. Whatever could be the reasons, it's so easy to let our motivation slip on these days. But if we are consistent – committed to do something, loyal to self & for the cause, even on the days when we don't feel like it, we'll still get things done. And usually, once we have started, it's not as bad as we thought it would be. People who are consistent are trusted in most cases because they can be relied, believed and depended on by others.

Discipline, accountability, and responsibility are all parts of staying consistent. In fact, consistency is the only demarcation that sets the shade between failure and success. Being consistent can help anybody to achieve success in any field of endeavors in personal and work life.

Consistency is the critical driver for success. Being consistent means dedicating yourself to your goals and staying focused on the things and activities to achieve them. However, it requires a long-term commitment and involves sustained effort in doing actions repeatedly until you curve niches in your domain in personal and professional spaces.

In our modern day’s world, instant gratifications, beauty filters, quick fixes, methods of tech-hacks, and AI generated works are the accepted norms. Yet, the quiet, persistent, and consistent action of an actuals, human minds, good pious souls feel great and ever authentic. Never pass a single day - meaningless, purposeless & effortless. Let us all be nice enough to accept the flaws in self & in others, keep showing up, failing, learning, practicing, repeating, improving and growing. Love yourself, respect people around you, appreciate the loyalty and faithfulness you get from your friends, employees and colleagues. Do what you say, say what you do as to display your consistency and expect the same in return.