You know how everyone advises you (myself inclusive) to embrace consistency, be consistent and you reap the fruits of your labor. And that’s sound advice because it is true.
However, no one talks about the side effects of consistency.
Because consistency can be boring . . . aargh!
A while back, I was learning to play the piano and at the time, I was practicing on my own. I had attended classes some months earlier and so this time I decided to go over my former lessons and practice with my old notes.
And so, I committed to play for 30minutes every day between 8pm and 8:30pm.
And you know, it was fun, it was quite interesting, me being self-motivated, leading myself to play the piano, and all of that.
I played consistently for the first week, the second week, the third week, and I continued like that. Sometimes, I would play to entertain my friends when they come to visit, sometimes I would record myself playing and share the recording with them. We would laugh together, they’d encourage me . . . and all of that.
It was fun and I continued like that till one evening when I got tired, and I don’t mean physically tired, I mean psychologically tired.
And here is how it happened. . .
My reminder had gone off as usual and I was starting to round off what I was doing so I could get on the piano, and then I paused, and I thought ‘Ayokanmi, by 8pm every day, you’ll get up and start playing the piano, just like that, only you o, are you not tired?’, and I started laughing at myself. . . and that was how I started to get bored with playing the piano and I gradually started to lose steam.
And that’s how it happens for some of us. We don’t necessarily get bored because we are lazy, or because we want the easy life, or because we are nonchalant. We get bored because we are diligent and hardworking people who show up every day.
Therefore, whenever your routine starts to get to you and you begin to feel bored, you must first remember the following upsides to consistency.
- Consistency increases your value.
- It improves your competence, your experience, and your expertise.
- Consistency helps you get meaningful work done and achieve results.
- Staying consistent makes you visible and attractive.
- Being consistent attracts the right people. People see your work and take your seriously.
- Your consistency attracts the right value.
- Pursuing your goals consistently helps you to live your best life.
So, here is what you should do when you get bored with consistency.
- Gratitude. Appreciate how far you’ve come and reward yourself for the work done so far. That way you are gingered to do more and do better.
- Rest. Another tip that I strongly advise is, take some time off work and get some rest. It could be fatigue and stress getting to you. Have a retreat, take a break, take a vacation if you must, hang out with friends, do whatever it is that re-inspires you, refreshes your mind, rejuvenates your soul, reenergizes your body so you can refill your energy tank.
- Talk about it. Speak with trusted friends, accountability partners, mentors, coaches, people who you trust to encourage you and share new ideas or fresh perspectives that will help you get back on track.
- Switch up your routine or schedule a bit. Incorporate the things that matter but be more flexible with your time. Include fun activities in your daily routine to keep you refreshed and relaxed.
- Give yourself grace. Be patient with your process and forgive yourself for your missteps.
- Revisit the drawing board. Go back to how and when it all started. Reevaluate your why, is it still as valid and compelling as it was at the beginning? Going back to the drawing helps you to put things in perspective. You can reset your priorities. You can identify deviations, progress, and you get pumped up again to get back on track. You might need to break down your big goals into SMART and sizeable bits so that you do not get overwhelmed by the bigness of the goal or project.
- Go over the feedback and testimonials you’ve gotten from people who have benefitted from the work you do. You will be inspired to push forward again.
- Grow your mental muscles. Develop your mental and emotional resilience. Because truth is, it will not always be easy. Life will happen, you will get discouraged. But the thin line success and failure is staying power. You must commit and stay disciplined to the process so that you can achieve meaningful results.
There you have it. I hope you got a few tips to help you on your journey.
If you can relate to this post, please share in the comments, I’ll be happy to read from you.
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