How was your first week of 2021?
I know we all experienced and continue to experience some disturbing events in the news but I want to encourage you in the midst of the madness.
The rotten roots of America will continue to be revealed before they can ever begin to heal and while that process unfolds, we must remember to be intentional about what we allow to distract us from having a great year.
One of the components to having a great year is to practice consistency no matter what’s going on.
This does not mean that we ignore our emotions, our circumstances and simply push forward like a robot.
The key to consistency is honesty.
Honesty about what?
Well, let's begin with two things.
1: When there is something challenging happening in your personal life or in the world, it’s vital to take a moment of each day to process the emotions connected to the situation.
It becomes a distraction and an energy drainer when we try to push past it, instead of facing the reality and processing our feelings.
Doing this, enables us to move forward into having effective consistency in any area no matter what is going on around us.
2: Be honest with yourself about the reason behind your desire to be consistent in a certain area of your life.
Our “why” must be strong enough to pull us through the daily hurdles that we face.
For example, I have had a consistent workout schedule for the past 2 years. With the exception of a few days, due to being out of town or having a cold, I've been consistent.
My reason behind working out is directly linked to my desire to increase my mental fortitude.
I used to drown in depressive thoughts, I was easily defeated by the slightest wind that blew into my life and my overall emotional intelligence was at its lowest until I became consistent in my workout routine.
After we identify our reason for our desired consistency, we will be faced with the natural, sometimes unexpected rhythms of life and billions of different thoughts.
When I first started working out, my thoughts would scream and say, “You’re only going to last a few days because this is too hard.”
It would also say things like, “You’ve never been consistent with anything before. What’s makes you think this time will be different?”
This is where honesty comes in to save the day.
We must take the time to address these voices, these thoughts and emotions.
How do we address them?
As soon as the thought pops up in your mind, confront it with one question, “Where are you from?”
This internal chatter, that sometimes questions your ability to do great things, hard things and to be consistent, has a place from which it came.
It could be a voice from your past experiences, a family members past experiences, your past self, your childhood self or your community.
Maybe you have never seen an example of someone being successful in the area in which you are currently trying to be successful.
Maybe you’ve tried to accomplish something in the past but experienced failure or maybe when you were a child someone told you something that discouraged you.
Who is the narrator conducting your mental dialogue?
Is it the highest version of yourself?
If your mental dialogue is not full of love, support and kindness? Then, you are not operating from a place of wholeness.
All of our negative internal chatter comes from a place of brokenness.
Good news is that brokenness can be healed into wholeness but we must have the courage to face it.
God created us in love, to be love, to spread love and the first human being that we must share this love with is ourselves.
So I really do not believe in beating yourself up in order to get something done.
That doesn’t work.
I know it doesn’t work because I’ve done it.
For example, if I messed up while recording a song in the past, I would say things like, “Oh c’mon you idiot can’t you just get it right one time?”
There isn’t one ounce of love within that statement.
Where did that statement come from?
That was the voice of my past failure, the fear of not being good enough, the residue of self esteem issues.
That voice came from a broken part within me.
Now what?
I confront that truth, with a higher, more powerful and undistorted truth.
Just like when the light is turned on in a room and the darkness has no choice but to leave.
So instead of talking myself down while recording, I confronted myself and began saying, “I know that this is challenging. I know that you have failed in the past and this moment is reminding you of that feeling. Remember that failure is a natural part of life, it does not define who you are. You are a child of God, who is capable of accomplishing great things.”
Did my voice behave in a more consistent manner while recording after that?
It sure did.
What’s my point?
The one thing that stops us from being consistent is accepting the false version of who we are instead of confronting it whenever we feel it rise in our thoughts, words and actions.
Remember : The false version of yourself is void of love, kindness, patience, self-control, joy, goodness, peace, gentleness and faithfulness.
Consistency, in any area of your life, is faithfulness to yourself and to your word.
But what if you miss a workout one day?
Respond with kindness.
If you respond in kindness, you will be more likely to return and try again.
If someone’s always yelling at you, would you want to cooperate with them?
Not me!
So be kind to yourself because the road to consistency is built with patience.
We are 9 days into a brand new year, if you’ve been experiencing some inconsistencies with your daily goals, do not beat yourself up and please do not give up.
There are ways in which we can build our consistency and it starts with facing the truth, nothing but the truth.
That’s the root of consistency, my friends.
After we secure our roots, we can begin creating a system that works for us.
What does it look like to create a system?
- Writing a schedule in a planner
- Setting alarms on your phone
- Sticking reminders on your refrigerator
- Checking in with an accountability partner
- Creating a daily priority list
And last but not least, remember to be flexible.
What do I mean by flexible?
If you get home late and do not have time to journal or workout or eat a healthy home cooked meal, or even forget to take your makeup off before bed, remember to be kind to yourself instead of giving up on your goals for this new year.
Consistency is built in an atmosphere of kindness, encouragement and love.
You can try again and again, as long as you're alive, just don't give up.
Here's a list of all 5 steps to building consistency :
1. Process your emotions
2. Identify your "why"
3. Confront your inner dialogue and replace it with a higher truth
4. Create a system that works for you
5. Remember to be flexible
Happy New Year my friends, we got this!
We will experience the fruit of consistency in 2021.
Yes, we will.
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