Today’s topic is consistency, the most common question I have been getting lately is “How do you stay consistent?” I’ve broken this down into two sections, my HOW & my WHY.
HOW do I manage to stay consistent?
Fitness is a lifestyle for me, literally! It is not something I choose to entertain when I feel like it, it is my life. I have a passion for fitness; I enjoy it, I crave it, I need it like I need to brush my teeth lol. BUT, It wasn’t until I became consistent with it, that I found a passion for it. What we have to remember when it comes to achieving a new goal is that it is going to be challenging, and often times we don’t properly prepare ourselves for this reality. In order to be consistent with any goal you want to achieve you have to mentally prepare yourself for it. Many of us fail before we begin because we don’t mentally prepare ourselves for the worst. We go into it with the wrong mindset, we don’t think about the reality of how tough it’ll be to wake up no matter what all we have going on, how we feel, or what we rather be doing, and go workout. We think about the easier aspects of it, like drinking water, and doing sits ups as if that’s all it takes to get abs. We often skip over that mental training that is required to prepare to win.
One of my strengths when it comes to being consistent is my ability to control my mind. I prepare myself for the worst, I never think best case scenario anymore (which is waking up to a stress free day and having all the time in the world to workout and feel strong etc.)! In fact, I get out of my head when I workout, and this has allowed me to do so in other settings. I don’t allow myself to talk me out of being my best. For so long I thought that little voice in my head was right “you need to rest,” “you’re doing too much,” most of the time that voice is A HATER. We will always rationalize why we should not push ourselves to do something when it’s challenging, just like people rationalize why it’s ok to talk down on someone doing better than them … it makes them feel better, it’s a defense mechanism (psychology 101 lol).
MENTAL STRENGTH OUTWEIGHS PHYSICAL STRENGTH.
One of the quotes I live by is “Consistency does not require perfection.” Sometimes we wait so long thinking everything will come together, or now just isn’t the right time. You have to make it the right time, the right time is whenever you decide to make it that! WAIT ON NOTHING, START NOW! I understand why people come to me for advice, but it trips me out that it truly takes so much growth to mentally get yourself to a point where it all just clicks. I think I often forget the years I spent working on myself, gaining that day in and day out discipline, but it’s all coming back to me. Believe me, I went through stages where I cried … more often than not, because the adjustment was just so challenging. It takes seclusion, stillness, and focus. I had to dig deep … and the more I write this the more I can relate to this common question that sparked this post “How do you stay consistent?” I stay consistent by staying consistent. The best advice I can give you, in the simplest way is … START & DO NOT STOP!
WHY do I stay consistent?
This took time as well, I learned that life is work. I used to have this unrealistic idea about life. About how I wanted my life to be, what I wanted out of it. I knew what I wanted, but I wasn’t realistic when thinking about how I was going to get it. To be honest I had this “whoa is me” attitude, I’ve always been a hard worker but there’s a lot of “hard workers.” I realized life requires work, the work rarely gets easier, and the load rarely gets lighter. “To whom much is given, much is expected.” So I got to a point where I accepted it, I take my deep breaths and I keep going. I don’t compare myself. I focus on my life, what I want, why I want it, & how I can get it. You have to have tunnel vision! I stay consistent because I understand that’s what it takes to be successful. When you stop, it stops. When you go, it goes. Your body isn’t going to tell the scale or your abs, or the dress you want to wear “She’s stressed lets just lose the weight for her.” Though I wish it did, it doesn’t. If you do the work, you will get the results.
In conclusion, START & DON’T STOP. GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD! TUNNEL VISION.
Good night Friends, please share your thoughts below! XO, Jazzy