Thoughts on Consistency

Consistency feels like this abstract concept to most people. There’s two main perspectives on consistency.

Phase 1: Habit forming

Consistency sometimes feels like you are starting things for the first time. This is usually when you are starting out something new like working out every day or starting a habit of reading.

Every day you have to decide to do it again

This phase can last from a few weeks to a few months.

During this phase things like passion, determination, discipline and even obsession matter the most.

Different types of people happen to have different levels of these “drives”. There is no one single source of drive that is going to work for everyone.

Every action you take in your life helps physically rewire your brain.

This is how habits are formed. Once you manage to fuel your habits during the early stage, you gradually transition to the next phase, which is the auto-pilot phase.

Phase 2: Auto-pilot

This is where the other perspective on consistency comes from. Which is that once habit forming has happened, your brain does it on auto pilot. And you don’t have to force it.

The habit is now ingrained in you. It is part of your identity. A part of who you are.

Your brain has been physically rewired due to the actions you have kept taking over weeks, months or years.

You don’t need to decide to do the “thing” each day.

For example, you are no longer a person who does some exercise, you are now a person who leads an active lifestyle.

There’s no thinking that happens. What others find a chore is now a breeze to you.

Even during this phase those initial “drives” are not lost. They will now serve to push your limits on what is possible to you.