A Lesson On Consistency

Keeping consistent in every aspect of your life is a challenge.

Maybe you miss a training session because you are called to an emergency.

Or maybe you drive-thru Oporto instead of preparing a home-cooked meal because you skipped a grocery shop.

What if there was a way to avoid all of that?

I can tell you from personal experience, there is.

And I want to teach you some of the principles I apply to achieve consistency across every aspect of my life.

What Does Consistency Look Like?

I’ll tell you what it looks like in my life.

5 years ago, I decided I wanted to start journaling. I began a daily journaling routine, and have not missed a day since (1,277 days and counting).

4 years ago, I started a morning movement routine as a way to prime myself for every passing day. I have performed this routine all but 6 days over the past 4 years. And yes, I did miss a few days with this one, but I didn’t let it stop me.

2 and a half years ago, I wanted to test my running ability and see if I could uphold a minimum of 1 daily run (indefinitely), amidst ultra events and long runs, and have run every day since (933 days and counting).

It also looks like ritual sleep and wake-up times, meal times, time devoted to a series of work tasks, the time I allocate to vacuuming, and the list goes on.

To achieve consistency, it takes being religious with how you structure your day.

Because at the end of the day, it's the repeated daily actions that add up to make a significant impact over time.

Six Principles of Consistency

Consistency is not about being perfect.

But once you begin to apply these six principles to your life, you can begin to perfect it with ease.

1) Maintain high energy levels

This means being aware of your physical and mental limitations and adjusting your day accordingly.

Because oftentimes, it only takes small adjustments.

So, if you're not a morning person, don't try to wake up at 5 am to exercise. Instead, schedule your workout for lunch or after work when you have more energy.

2) Create fail-safe options

Have a backup plan in case something goes wrong.

So, if you are going away for the weekend and you are normally in the gym every day, don’t skip the session - prep a home workout routine.

Or if you have limited time to cook each day, prep your meals at the beginning of the week to cover yourself.

3) Become a chaos monkey

If you deliberately attack your points of weakness, you can position yourself to perform optimally.

So when chaos does arise, it’s not a surprise - you’ve already taken steps to protect yourself.

Imagine you’ve planned out a big day tomorrow and you go to bed, but you stay up late because you get hooked scrolling on your phone till late.

You start the next day tired, you can’t perform well at your job, you keep screwing things up, your attitude gets worse as the day goes on, then you get home and snap at your family.

It’s a butterfly effect that stems from one poor decision.

If you make it your job to discover your deficiencies, you can address them, instead of repeating them.

Always asking yourself, “Will the future me be happy with this decision?”

And if the answer is no, you will know what to do.

Which leads to the next thing.

4) Out with the old, in with the new

That is, replace your bad habits with good habits.

And make the good habits fool-proof by scheduling them in a way that is the least likely to be affected by unforeseen circumstances.

For example, if you want to begin a meditation practice, do it first thing in the morning before anything else can distract you.

5) Your word is your bond

Stay accountable.

Say what you mean, and mean what you say.

Part of this is being realistic about what you are capable of committing to, and following through on your commitments.

Don’t promise yourself to train 1 hour every day if you can only manage 30 mins for 5 days a week.

100% consistency, and no less! Even if it means you gotta tone it down.

If it’s any less than 100%, it’s a failure, and over time this will impact your mood, your sense of pride, and your self-esteem.

For bonus points, ask your friends and family to hold you accountable. A bit of positive reinforcement is a great way to drive accountability.

6) Be prudent

This means recognising your tendencies, and pre-meditating any excuses or roadblocks that will come up.

Be prepared and implement a strategy to overcome them.

So, if you know that busy weeks can derail your workout routine, come up with a simplified routine that you can follow during those times.

Or if your goal is to stop eating chocolate, keep all chocolate out of the house!

Apply these principles and I promise you will make exponential progress towards your goals, even in the face of adversity.

And remember, consistency is a journey, not a destination, it takes time, attention, practice and constant feedback.

Yours in running and life,

Daniel Lucchini