• Consistency can create competence.

• Finding an appropriate balance between good and bad habits is often a challenge.

• Consistency is a hallmark of leadership.

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“It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently.”

-Anthony Robbins

Consistency is a key topic to discuss when coaching youth.

Being consistent in our daily efforts can make us effective. We are habitual creatures. What habits do we have? Are they helping or hindering our progress?

We need to find an appropriate balance in our daily habits.

POSITIVE HABITS:

• regular exercise;

• scheduled study;

• healthy eating;

• practicing skills in sports, arts, music, etc.

NEGATIVE HABITS:

• watching excessive television, movies, Youtube videos, etc.;

• over indulging in social media like Facebook, Twitter, etc.;

• playing video games and using smartphone apps, etc.;

• the many addictive behaviours that entice us daily.

The challenge is to introduce good habits to replace poor habits.

• sports;

• the arts;

• education;

• investing;

• business;

• relationships;

• marketing and;,

• leadership at work and politics, etc.

I told a friend this tip and a few years later he stated, “I owe you a big thank you.” He told me he had passed his government exams because he, too, had studied consistently.

Passing these exams qualified us for the more senior positions.

LEADERSHIP:

Consistency is the hallmark of leaders. Consistency is a leadership trait.

The first step to becoming a leader is leading yourself.

SUGGESTIONS TO ASSIST CONSISTENCY:

• FOCUS – Decide where to commit your attention and efforts.

• Learn how to say NO in a polite manner. This is where we can often get into trouble.

• Follow your INTERESTS. Consistency is easier when you love what you do.

• Start a simple task, repeating it everyday for 21 days. KEEP TRACK of how you spend every half hour of your day. What distracted you? Remove the distractions.

• Don’t associate with inconsistent people. You can pick up bad habits.

• FORGIVE YOURSELF and get back on track ASAP.

• CELEBRATE your successes. Reward yourself regularly.

• Study GOAL SETTING and how to achieve them.

• Find an ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER. Someone to hold you to your commitments.

• NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP.

Consistency, or lack of, can be the defining factor between failure or success.