Have you ever begun something with a strong push only to die a week later?
The new workout routine. The side hustle idea. The I would read one book per week! resolution.
You get tough several days... then life comes around, your spirit wanes and in a few days, your new pretty habit is gathering dust.
Sound familiar? You're not alone. And this is the reality that most people do not wish to hear; success is not about intensity, but rather about consistency.
WHY WE LOVE INTENSITY
Let's be honest. Intensity is sexy.
The 5 a.m. workout grind.
The 16 hours a day, hustle of the entrepreneur.
The crash diet that will transform your life in 30 days.
Intensity feels dramatic. It makes a great story. It is what one boasts about on Instagram.
However, the issue here is that intensity burns out. And when it happens you find yourself where you began.
Concurrence, however? It's boring. It is brushing your teeth at night. It is even turning up when you are not in the mood. It is doing little things day by day that keep on paying off in a grand scale.
And dottled, Drake, is what really works.
The Habit of Half-Dying Pain.
Consider success as an interest in a savings account. You do not pour in $10,000 and bid adieu. You add a little every week. Gradually, progressively, it develops--and before long the outcomes are magical.
The same applies to consistency.
Get 200 words daily - you will have a book at the end of one year.
Savings of $5 daily - you will save almost 2000 a year.
Do 20 pushups a day - 7000 or more pushups a year.
Even small things add up to huge outcomes. That's the power of boring.
CONSISTENCY VS. INTENSITY: A QUICK BREAKDOWN
Here's how the two stack up:
Effort: Vigorous, brief exercise. Exciting at first. Hard to sustain.
Schedulability: Minor, repetitive action. Feels slow. Gathering irresistible strength.
Which one wins in the long run? Always consistency.
PRWs Practical Consistency Building Ways.
So how do you keep yourself (without losing your mind) consistent?
Start small. Don't aim for 100 pushups a day. Start with 5. Build up slowly.
Set a minimum standard. Determine your never miss variant of the habit. Example: write 1 sentence a day. On other days you will write more, and you will always win.
Track your progress. Checking off boxes is weirdly motivating.
The end does not justify the means. Rather than worrying about how to lose 20 pounds, worry about the exercise 20 minutes a day. The system generates the outputs.
Be boring proudly. Those who come out victorious in the long run are not the showboats, but those who are out there doing the job when no one is looking.
A SIMPLE RULE TO REMEMBER
This is a mind game, never fail twice.
You skip a workout? Fine. Just don't skip two in a row. Miss writing one day? Okay. But to-morrow be on the track.
This prevents minor setbacks that would result in complete failure.
THE TAKEAWAY
Success is not a matter of making great explosions. It is of the gradual drop of advancement.
Fidelity is always better than intensity.
ONE QUESTION FOR YOU
In what area of your life is your life depending on intensity where it should be on consistency?