You may have heard the saying; ‘change is a process, not an event’. Many times you will find this to be a valuable affirmation to help you in forging ahead in the face of minor setbacks or failures. The key to excellence is consistency and the key to consistency will be our topic for this article.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines consistency as;

1 a. archaic: Condition of adhering together: firmness of material substance. b: firmness of constitution or character: persistency.

2: degree of firmness, density, viscosity or resistance to movement or separation of constituent particles .

3: Agreement or harmony of parts or features to one another or a whole: correspondence; specifically: ability to be asserted together without contradiction.

Consistency is a fundamental facet of effective Action. Our history is been full of ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes, pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and promises of instant prosperity and gratification. The road to prosperity has been a blurry oasis to many, seeming to be dependent on a chance event, inheritance or some sort of stroke of magical luck. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Abundance may begin with a mindset but it is not achieved in that moment.  It is not what momentus action you undertake today, not what magical quantum leap you make or overhaul of every detail that will make a difference. Nothing great was ever achieved by those who apply themselves ‘once in a while’. Abundance is a state of being that is found through graduated steps of consistent action. Whatever you do consistently every day will be where you are headed. It is that simple and is what will make the monumental difference between where you are now and where you will be in as little as 90 days.

You may find yourself recoiling from the idea of consistency. You may be a thrill seeker who finds repetition and routine boring or the kind of person who believes in unleashing their wild side more often than not. I’m not suggesting that consistency is the most exciting idea ever presented, at least not as far as it is used and understood on an every day basis. While I am suggesting you embrace the mundanities of daily repetitive actions, that is not to say that they need to be mundane. They nist definitely will not be once you begin to see the results.

This is the obstacle that many people, when faced with the boredom or lackluser repetition of action, decide to give up, usually before even having a chance to truly taste the fruits of their labors. Do not allow yourself to fall into this trap for it is the results of consistent daily action that garner the most fruitful and exciting results.

You may be saying ‘this is fine and dandy, consistency is important. I get it. I’ve heard it before too. How do I become more consistent?’ Well, here are some specific tools you can use to ensure you maintain that all important facet of effective action planning;

Do what you love and love what you do: We all have passions. Whether or not they are circling around beneath the surface or you’ve chosen to manifest them into daily action is up to you. It is far easier to be consistent when you are doing something that you love to do, and it can be quite easy to learn to love what you are doing even if you don’t like it at the time. Take responsibility for the process itself, not the results. Focusing on the potential results can usually put a damper on the process. Most of the time you will face a negative emotional reaction to things because you don’t like the usual ‘potential’ results not because you don’t like the particular part of the process. Pay no mind as you can always do whatever you want to do eventually anyways.

Recognize your consistent inconsistencies: It’s funny but trust me there are things you do every day consistently without necessarily even knowing it, things that are a result of old conditioning and are so ingrained in your mind you may not even be aware you are doing them. Take notice; be ‘hyper’ aware of certain things you do every day, even things as simple as HOW you shower, HOW you brush your teeth or put your pants on in the morning. Being aware of what you already do consistently will bring you closer to truly understanding the nature of your daily activities and their effects on your direction in life. Once you have become aware of these activities then you are positioned to decide which are serving a greater purpose and which can be shed and abandoned to design a new path and a new self-image.

Begin to enforce a new Morning Ritual: It’s no mystery that how you begin your day will generally shape how the rest of your day pans out. Take time, 10 minutes even, to sit comfortably and relax. Focus on your breathing and clear your mind. How does your personal ‘perfect start to a day’ look? Include those things you may often feel there is no time for. Include whatever it is that stirs up a new level of emotional commitment. Begin to paint a solid picture of your perfect morning routine and write it down. Put it on your bedside table before you go to bed and wake up and say hello to your new morning!

Use your environment: Your environment is full of triggers that cause emotional responses on the conscious and unconscious level. It is in your environment’s reflection on the screen of your mind that your imagination is ignited and ideas are born. Use this to your advantage and don’t write your goals and schedule on private documents, daytimers or digital calendars only! Write it on post its, index cards, wall mounted calendars or anything that you can see with little to no effort. Make your environment a constant reminder of things you need to do, have to do and will do.

Decide that the Journey is worth more than the destination: This is fundamental. It is often your own reaction to obstacles, your emotional self-destruction, that leads you astray. When you are disappointed that you aren’t achieving the kinds of results you had intended on you may allow the disappointment to affect your self-esteem and tarnish your self-image. It is up to you to make the whole hearted commitment to enjoying the journey, understanding that the destination is rarely ever how we picture it in our minds. That original image or idea may have just been a catalyst to get you started in a direction while the end result will be beyond your wildest dreams. The key is to take effective action in a focused direction. If you are waylayed or lead elsewhere, don’t let that elsewhere be nowhere! Choose to recalibrate and enjoy that this life is bound to bring curveballs and more. That’s what keeps it interesting!

Take these steps and implement them into your daily life and witness the transformation in 90 days. You will have created new habits you no longer need to tend to, ingrained new thoughts into your subconscious mind and began a new and exciting direction in your life. You won’t even recognize yourself!

Create some fire and pass the torch,

The Kanary Team
http://www.johnkanary.com