What Consistent Actions Are You Taking to Reach Your Goals?

Small disciplnes repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time - John C. Maxwell


At an earlier time in my life I didn’t actually believe in consistency. In fact, I once had a boss who said the most consistent thing about me was my inconsistency, and I loved that. I took it as a compliment as I fought the corporate machine and tried desperately not to get sucked into it

But over the years, I learned the hard way that to get anything done with any degree of success, you need consistency.

Consistent actions taken over time get consistent results.

As a martial arts student my practice had to be performed in definite sequence, and I had a teacher who held us all accountable for applying the right techniques in the right sequence. Sloppy work did not take you from blue belt to black belt! I learned a lot about consistency in those years and achieved my black belt in karate.

I know many creative people who tell me ‘I’m a lousy business person’. They feel if they commit themselves consistently to the business of representing themselves in the world they will lose their souls and their creative edge by being conformist.

Conforming and consistency are not the same. One is about compliance to standards, rules and process, while the other is about taking diligent actions repeatedly to gain desired results.

What consistent actions are you taking to reach your goals?

Think about areas of your life where your goals are out of reach because you’re inconsistent.

What would need to change to be more disciplined, more focused, and more consistent in your thoughts and actions.

There are two kinds of consistency.

Negative Consistency


Negative consistency is not living up to your word. Changing things up all the time. Trying new things without waiting to see if something works before you change course. That’s a cardinal error that many people make in business. You don’t see the results immediately, so you try something else. Spending money when you know you promised yourself you would be more prudent. Being inconsistent with setting goals that will move you closer to what you hope to achieve.

Is your lack of inconsistency a result of not believing you can achieve what you set out to do? Do your conversations dither back and forth rather than being direct? Are you ambivalent about the changes you want to make, and therefore use procrastination as an excuse to avoid the inevitable?

Positive Consistency


To get great results, you have to have a positive attitude, a clear vision of where you’re going, and consistently measure your actions to match the results you seek. Keep an eye on the things you’re doing to bring about change, and check in regularly to see if you’re meeting your goals.

Think about your daily actions. Are they consistent with your desired outcomes? Do you get easily distracted? Then what habits can you develop to change that?

“If you are persistent you will get it; if you are consistent, you will keep it.”

To achieve greatness demands not only great vision, but tremendous consistency in thoughts and deeds. Without it, there’s a pretty good chance you will feel like you’re in a pinball machine, bouncing from post to post hoping to make it through to the other side. You may be successful, but perhaps not as successful as you would like.

Being consistent shortcuts the time it takes you to achieve the desired results you want - every time!