CONSISTENCY VS. INTENSITY

Part 6 of 6

OWNING YOUR LIFE

The SECRET to LONG TERM SUCCESS
Building Your System & Living It

 

“If you optimize for the outcome, you win one time.  

If you optimize for a process that leads to great outcomes, 

you can win again and again.” -James Clear

THE POWER OF CONSISTENCY (LIVING IT)

As your New Year’s resolutions start taking shape in your mind, it might just be time to take a step back and think about more than your GOALS.  Instead, focus on your PROCESS (or habits) for achieving those goals. Building your ability to practice habits each day is your most powerful tool for change.  

For example, we’d rather attempt to give up carbs, coffee and chocolate, then add in working out  7 days a week and finish it off with something crazy like trying to lose 20 lbs in 30 days. Sound familiar?  We go at it so hard because our emotions fuel our motivation. Then we realize we’re falling short and instead of scaling back, we drop it all and revert right back to where we started… sometimes even sliding backward.

This reinforces the false belief that we can’t do it or we don’t have the willpower to stay with it.  The key is consistency. 

THE STRATEGIES → START SMALL. 51%. NEVER TWICE

Here are a few strategies for focusing on process vs. outcome.

1. 1. STARTING SMALL – We end up where we are because of small, consistent habits.  We eat a little more than we burn, we move a little less than we used to… and over time, we gain a little bit each week.  And because we allow this to go on and on, we get into a place where we think we need to overcompensate with unrealistic changes, when what we actually need is small, consistent changes that start to move us back in the direction we want to go.
   2. 51% – All you have to do is win most of the time.  If you’re trying to lose weight can you eat healthy most of the time?  Can you workout 3 times a week and get your 10K steps a day most days or does it have to be all or nothing?  This 51% (or better) is the idea of progress over perfection.  So drop the all-or-nothing thinking that that has prevented you from moving forward with lasting change.
   3. NEVER TWICE – This means if you do fall off the wagon or path or journey, you get right back on right away.  Eat a bad meal, make the next one a good one. Miss a workout, make sure to show up the very next day.  Just as good habits can become easier to do the more we do them, so can the bad ones. Commit to the process and learn to recommit right away if you stumble. Then that’s all it is: a little stumble.

THE CHALLENGE →  MAKE THIS YEAR DIFFERENT

This year, challenge yourself to approach things from a new angle: once you know your IDEAL OUTCOME GOAL, start focusing on creating a process that seems easy and doable.  Create a foundation you can build from on a long-term basis. 

THE ACTION FORMULA → 

OUTCOME (GOAL) → SYSTEMS (SKILLS) → HABIT (PRACTICING THE SKILL)

For example:

1. Commit to 12 workouts a month for the entire year.
2. Move for 30 minutes (or more) every day.
3. Always split your dessert. Or dinner. Or your movie popcorn.
4. Focus more on processes and habits than outcomes… let the results show up, but don’t let them be the deciding factor.
5. Have a salad for lunch every day.
6. Limit drinking your calories in heavy sodas and alcoholic beverages.
7. Do 10 minutes of foam rolling every morning.
8. Limit your TV watching to 1 hour a day.
9. Read 1 book a month.

The possibilities are endless!  So this year, decide the outcome you want, then create a consistent process by using daily habits. You’ll find yourself building a foundation of self-confidence that will enable you to change just about anything.

And if you need more help, re-read the 6 MINDSET principles to Owning Your Life and apply them.  

Start small. Be consistent. Build your system.

Phil Dozois, Certified Personal Coach + Entrepreneur

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5

Questions, reach me at [email protected]