Consistency Carves Canyons!
Image Credit: Sonaal Bangera via Unsplash
How Was The Grand Canyon Formed?
I know, the question is more to do with geology than psychology, but think about it?
What is the key reason behind the formation of this spellbinding landscape?
I say — consistency!
The Colorado river has “consistently” been carving these canyons for the past, oh let’s see, 5 to 6 million years.
Of course, there are many factors that come into play — together — to have this happen, but it is the consistency that has kept it going.
If the river had stopped flowing even within a century — which seems like a long time to you and me — there would be no canyons!
Nature itself is consistent — the cycle of day and night, the seasons, the effect of the seasons — all is consistency.
We may not realize it, but we humans are also consistent in our behaviors! Even in our inconsistency, we are consistent 🙂
Let’s look at what consistency means.
The definition I like best is from the Cambridge Dictionary:
The quality of always behaving or performing in a similar way, or of always happening in a similar way.
To this I will add: Activities that are performed and behavior that is demonstrated repeatedly and regularly.
How consistent we are with our actions, and also which actions we engage in consistently basically define the quality of our life.
Consistent actions lead to big results!
While most of us don’t intend to carve canyons, but we do intend to have healthy teeth and hence we floss!
Like I said before, consistent actions lead to big results — and sometimes these are not so good!
Endless social media scrolling — at all times! This is actually known to affect our brains — and not in a good way!
The difference here is mindful vs mindless consistency!
Mindful, consistent action is how we create the life that we design via our hopes and dreams. Not just action, but consistent action.
Outcomes of mindless, consistent action are unpredictable. They may be good or they may be bad, but you are doing it without a true purpose!
And without a purpose, even good outcomes might not be very fulfilling!
Mindful consistency can be difficult to adopt — it is boring, it is difficult, we don’t see instant results!
But there are ways to train ourselves to be consistent once you identify the obstacles.
My biggest hurdle is distractions. The shiny object syndrome is very real for me.
What helps me most with this is planning.
When I make a list of intentions for the day, I invariably complete it! There is no way to “forget” my intention. Sometimes I have the same things on the list everyday — this converts the activity into a habit and it becomes second nature.
But you know what — I often get distracted and forget to make my list!
The second hurdle is my mind playing the devil’s advocate. Asking me to take a nap instead of doing my 20 minutes of yoga. I know yoga will refresh me more than the nap, and yet I succumb so often.
A few words from my fitness instructors have helped me with this — Just show up!
Sounds simple, but this is the hardest part. Showing up! Once you show up, there is no way you will not make any effort. In fact, once you start, there might be no stopping you!
The third is not seeing results right away. I do love me some instant gratification!
The way to overcome this is to document my progress. I may not see a difference from one day to another. But from month to month? Oh yes, definitely!
Some works of art take a lot of patience and time. Like the Grand Canyon!!!
Currently, I am working on an earlier wake up time, and not snoozing while I am at it!
What are some of the things you wish to be consistent with?
