In this newsletter I explore the concept of consistency and challenge the common notion of tying motivation to future outcomes.
Why do so many of us struggle with consistency?
One critical mistake is that we anchor our motivation to future desires - neglecting the significance of our present actions.
We want something from the world.
It refuses to budge.
So we fall off track.
Why?
Because the rewards we seek are rarely the rewards the world gives us.
Most motivational speakers propound tying your willpower towards a specific goal.
The idea is bound to an archaic notion of control:
That which you want,
If willed hard enough -
Will be exactly what you get.
It’s a false, even childish supposition.
Be careful about buying into prescriptive fantasies which tie self-realisation to specific outcomes the world must give you.
An external motivation never has the durability of an internal value.
Believing solely in our willpower to attain our desires ignores the fact that the world operates according to its own plans.
It’s not just about us.
Our lives are are married to a billion other realities manifesting in chaotic synchronicity.
So when it comes to consistency, think about it this way instead:
Do not tie it to a goal or a future destination.
Think instead about how you can integrate consistency into your life as an extension of being.
What does that mean practically?
It means committing to consistency as a discipline of self, rather than as an expectation of the future.
You don’t do it because of something you want from the world. You do it out of a value you want to live by.
You cannot control what the world will give you. But you can control your attitude and how you approach life.
So what is the key to mastering your attitude?
It is to commit to that which you decide to do, irrespective of how the world happens to be treating you.
Consistency is not about the future, it is about the everyday.
You, having the courage to be you!
And if you make consistency a discipline of Self, life does notice.
So remember, what you do in the dark matters. It is there your life force is rendered.
And it propels itself forward, not driven by an imaginary outcome, but by your dedication to the only thing you’ll ever have control over:
The power to master your attitude - and to manifest it through the ritual of consistency.
In this, consistency transcends itself and becomes an act of prayer.
Not as something you want from the future, but as an expression of your belief in life.
As Thích Nhất Hạnh puts it:
The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion."
I came up to the conclusion that whatever reduces your immediate “will-work” helps you move towards your goal. Short term motivation has its own limitations - it can help to kick off your journey but usually slows you down long-term.
And letting go your expectations is indeed a great example of this as it affects your immediate motivation and therefore reduces the ability to work consistently.
Putting the planner in charge of your life is also helpful as a way of delegating responsibility of making small actions to external actor which is stronger than a will which can be prone to fluctuations, while keeping yourself in charge of the global direction of your life
i regularly struggle with consistency - mostly in times when my mental health is not good. i'm naturally a very ambitious and perfectionist person, so it has been hard to come to terms with the fact that sometimes, i am not able to reach my daily goals. i've been learning to be kind to myself in those times - any progress i've made is not gone because of a few bad days. a day in which i cannot mentally or physically work towards one of my goals is not a wasted day, it does not ruin all the work i've already put towards reaching said goal. all i can do is try tomorrow, and if it works i can be proud of myself, but if it doesn't, i don't have to put myself down. "You do it out of a value you want to live by.", as you say - that is something that helped me so much when i actually realized and started to internalize it, because all of a sudden, i am the only one i am accountable to, and even though i tend to be my own worst critic, it helped me to be kinder to myself :)