The Habit of Consistency: 6 Areas Of Your Life To Be More Consistent

Consistency is a key to success in just about everything we do. Sure, there will always be other factors that come into play, but without consistency, they may not be as effective as they could be.

My friend John Stange is the founder of PlatformLaunchers.com. He is a prolific author, podcaster, pastor, and leader whose advice I’ve come to accept as a pretty good guide for my own creative work. In a recent blog, he wrote,

“If you want to get good at anything, and if you want to build momentum that has the capacity to last beyond the initial push, you’re going to need to be consistent.”

White John is speaking about building an online platform, the case can be made that consistency will breed momentum in many areas of life. That has certainly been true in my own health and well-being and with coaching others.

In my book Wheels to Wellbeing, I wrote:

Wellness is more than a state of health where you are free of illness. It is a state of well-being that is the result of deliberate effort. Wellness has its roots in alternative medicine and at its core it identifies the whole person as a collaboration of mind, body, and spirit.

I see wellness as a balancing act, much like riding a bicycle.

A bicycle is made up of two wheels composed of a tire, inner tube, and the wheel itself. The wheel is composed of an inner hub and outer rim, which are connected by a series of spokes. Bicycle spokes work together to support and evenly distribute the weight of the rider. On its own, a single spoke is easily bent. Put together with its fellow spokes and it supports a great deal of weight without bending. When one spoke does bend or break, all the other spokes take on more of the load. The extra pressure makes every other spoke more vulnerable to failure. In addition, damaged spokes can cause punctures to the wheel or get caught in your frame, causing you to fall. Every single spoke matters.

In life, just like on a bike, I’ve learned that it’s important to keep my spokes in good working condition, so I can stay balanced and continue moving forward toward a life of wellness. The spokes in my wellness wheel include nutrition, exercise, faith/spirituality, relationships, finances, self-care/self-love, career, nature, prayer and meditation, rest, passions, purpose, play, and more. Together, they support my healthy lifestyle. When one of these areas or spokes is not working, all other areas are vulnerable.

So if you, too have a goal of wellness, then you must first understand that it is the result of deliberate effort. And this is where consistency comes in. Let’s look at SIX areas of life where consistency will breed success.

Consistency With Exercise

Physics teaches us that the most challenging part of getting any object—including ourselves—in motion is the beginning. But once we have created some momentum and made exercise a habit, we are in motion, and it is easier to continue in motion.

My overall advice to someone trying to get started with exercise or simply moving their body more is to find something you enjoy. It may be something from childhood or another season of your life. It can be as simple as walking or following a stretching video on YouTube. It may be trying a few different classes at a local YMCA, gym, college, or community center. Commit to something small, like ten minutes of activity three times per week. Once you have created a consistent habit over several weeks, you can increase the time duration.

Consistency With Nutrition

I’ve struggled with my weight on and off over the years. When I look back at when I was at my most comfortable weight, I was eating a healthy diet with consistency.

• I drank half my body weight in water each day.
• I followed a “protein pacing” lifestyle, ensuring protein at every meal and snack.
• I consistently avoided high-sugar items including starch carbs like crackers, cookies, and breads.
• I cleansed weekly.

As I’ve coached others over the years, I’ve found that it is human nature to want quick results when it comes to health and in particular weight loss or even maintenance. I’ve also seen people commit to a healthy lifestyle on Monday, and by Thursday, they feel they’ve been good all week and deserve a treat. If weight loss is your goal or if you are trying to dial in a few health markers under the supervision of your doctor (cholesterol, blood pressure, etc.), then you’ll need to commit to being more consistent for a more extended period of time, especially in the beginning.

Consistently Build In Rest and Recover

When your body is tired and your spirit is weary, the best thing you can do is rest. To avoid getting to the point of being overtired or overwhelmed, I suggest building consistent time to rest and recover. In some seasons, this means getting extra sleep each night. You may need to take more breaks. Breaks can be one day per week, one long weekend per month, and one week per quarter. Many religions practice and encourage a day of rest. With rest comes recovery and a reboot to creativity and productivity. In the long run, consistent breaks where you unplug and focus on rest and recovery will bring you the success you seek.

Consistency In Relationships

When I mention relationships I encourage you to consider your relationship with God or a Higher Power, your partner/spouse, your parents, siblings, children, co-workers, friends, community, or any other connection you value. It could even be a relationship with your pet. Your relationships can be the most rewarding aspect of your life, so whenever possible, seek peace and stay connected. CONSISTENTLY! Healthy relationships require consistent nurturing.

Each Sunday evening, you look at the week and month to come. Who are the people you value? When was the last time you spent time with them? Set a task to reach out and make a date to connect and then mark on your calendar when you want to follow up. For a child, it may require daily consistency. For a spouse, you may need an entirely focused date once a week. For friends and extended family, perhaps it’s monthly get-togethers. Whatever you decide, commit to engage with them consistently.

Consistently Practice Self-care

Many religions and spiritual traditions teach a version of the principle “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” It’s the premise of treating others the way we would want to be treated. The problem is, we don’t love ourselves enough. With self-love comes self-care. Only you know what you need. For me, I know this:

• I need to ride my bike consistently.
• I need to practice yoga, with a group, at a class consistently.
• I need to be outdoors consistently.
• I need to experience the water consistently, even if I live in the desert and my only access to water is the bathtub.
• I need to write to express my innermost feelings consistently.
• I need a majority of my mornings to start with ease and quiet, consistently.

Self-care is personal. Only you know what you need in your life to calm the angst and rejuvenate your soul. Whether you find that in church or the outdoors, I encourage you to do it consistently.

Consistently Find Ways To Laugh

Laughter is contagious and a potent antidote for a bad mood. It releases negativity in its path. It’s hard to be sad or angry when we’re laughing.

As part of a conscious plan to fill my mind and heart with love, laughter, and fun, I seek ways to laugh more. When looking for a movie, I look for comedies. When I need a quick break from work, I search for funny YouTube videos. As I focus on laughter, I feel better. I’m not suggesting that you should never watch another serious or dramatic movie. But our body and soul can benefit from choosing to fill our lives with positive and funny moments through movies, television, and books, or happy and inspiring posts on Pinterest and Instagram.

How About You?

If you find yourself stuck or are not moving toward your own health and wellness goals, it may be due to a lack of consistency. I encourage you to think of the areas I’ve outlined and self-assess your habits. Are there areas you could be more consistent?

©2024 Lori Ann King