Consistency is Key!

Happy Second Week Of January 2020!

Yes, that's right, it's January 8, so that means we have passed the first full week of the new year. We are almost halfway to "Quitting Day"; that is January 17. Yes, "Ditch New year's Resolution Day" is considered to be the day when a large number of people abandon their New Year's resolutions. If you are so inclined, I found a link that lists some ways you can celebrate:  https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/fun/ditch-new-years-resolution-day. So, if you followed that link, just go ahead and quit reading now too. In other words - as Survivor host Jeff Probst says to the loser's at the end of a challenge - "I've got nothing for ya."

If you're still here, let's talk about consistency. Consistency can be loosely described as dependably doing "A thing" at a regular interval. For example, I made a commitment to myself to start my new online coaching group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/RealisticRunning on January 1. But that's not really a commitment because I only CREATED the group once. The true commitment is that I promised myself to do a Facebook Live (FBL) video every single day for the month of January after creating the group on 1/1. So, day one, create the group; days two through eight, FBL. So far so good.

Some interesting things have happened in only 7 days of FBL-ing:

• I learned how to do Facebook Live! I had never done one before. January 2, 2020 was my very first time. It could have been worse, but it didn't go well.
• Day 2 didn't go much better. By Day 3 I was figuring things out. I've learned to NOT hold my phone in my hand while recording. I've learned that sometiems the celluar data connection is better for uploading videos than my wifi signal. I've learned how to talk to no one in particular for more than eleven minutes in a row (new PR today!)
• I no longer worry about remembering to do a daily FBL; now my concern is when I can fit it in. I started out doing them at the start of my lunchtime runs. Then the weekend came and my schedule changed. Then my day job got in the way and I had to get creative. 
• I've learned that committing to doing something every single day changes your mindset. (Have you noticed that I've actually written two blogs within a week of each other for the first time in a very long time?)

If you want to be consistent, you need to set boundaries. Set a start date and an end date. Then go make it happen. Don't worry about the details, just start. As Yoda says, "Do or do not; there is no 'try'." Take a leap of faith, believe in yourself, and start that new habit. Try it for 30 days. It's only THIRTY DAYS! You can do it. If you can't bear to think about such a "long" time period, start by committing to a week. Set a boundary that seems achievable to you. Then go do it. It doesn't have to be pretty. You don't even have to really know what you're doing. Go do it. 

Do yourself a favor, and commit to something. Do it soon. I'm betting that when you get to the end of your boundary, you'll want to keep going. Good. Set another boundary. If you just did one week, go for two! Hopefully, if your commitment was to something you actually wanted to do, you'll  learn by the end of your commitment how to keep on going, maybe forever!

Imperfect action is better than perfect inaction!

Here's todays FBL from my Online Coaching Page:
Consistency is Key!



If you're a person who listens to podcasts, here's a link to the one that motivated me to do a FB Live every day. The idea is that committing to doing something Every Single Day changes your whole mindset. It completely changes the way you start thinking. (FYI, you have to get to about 33 minutes in before he gets to this specific point. The first 11 or so minutes is traditional random banter he does with his co-host & the rest is build up to this point.
No Meat Athlete Podcast on Consistency