Tackling Consistency

One of the biggest problems I face is consistency. I rarely stick to something and follow through with it towards the end. I start many things, and then midway through them, if a minor inconsistency happens, I tend to spiral, and recovering is hard. I am always trying to find a way to be consistent by doing things a little differently and identifying patterns in my behaviours over the years, and pinpointing that one thing which constantly pulls me off track.

In the past, I have made excuses and used my ADHD as a cover for spiralling and being inconsistent. Sure, it might add to the problem, but I do not think that is the main reason. I believe it has to do with discipline and accountability.

How Accountability Affects Consistency:

Ever since I went abroad to pursue my degree, I have been left to my own devices. I do not have any oversight from my parents or any other authoritative figure. Therefore, I technically do not answer to anyone. The only person who overlooks me is, well, me. I feel as if I am lenient with myself and allow many things to slide—some things for which I should be held accountable. Hence, I rarely face any real consequences. Writing this, I now realise that this may come back and bite me in the future. It serves me right, I guess. On the other hand, I might have figured out how to fix this.

“Accountability is the glue that ties commitment to the result.”

Bob Proctor

Battling accountability & discipline:

I recently saw social media in a new light. Instead of thinking of social media as my enemy, why not use it to my advantage. I came across this trend/page on Instagram called Project 50 . It is a set of habits that you have to follow for 50 days without any breaks, and if you miss a day, you’ll have to start all over again. So, I plan to record my 50 days and post them on Instagram. Therefore, I will have some accountability through friends and people that follow me. It will give me a sense of purpose to post every day and stay consistent, and who knows how many other people I might end up motivating.

Through Project 50, I hope to be more disciplined towards the end. This way, even after I stop posting about my progress on social media, I will be able to continue without any motivation. It will purely be my discipline which will drive me. I know that not everyone has motivation all the time. Therefore, we will need the discipline to follow through with our endeavours and be more consistent with everything we do.

Putting all this together, I think I have a chance at consistency this time. Even if this does not work, it is still a good experiment and a learning opportunity. It will tell me the things that work for me and those that don’t. No matter what you do in life, no matter how many times you fail, always learn from those, as they are opportunities to grow.