Yet you may find yourself struggling to be consistent; not because you fail to recognize its value, but because consistency is often presented in a skewed way.
For the most part, consistency is presented as something you are supposed to do. But it isn't.
To understand this, we need to turn to The 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX). In 4DX, the authors make a distinction between two kinds of measures: lagging measures and leading measures.
- A lagging measure is an outcome. It tells you what has already happened.
- A leading measure is a driver. It tells you what is likely to influence future outcomes.
Consistency is best understood as a lagging measure. It is not something you directly do. Rather, it is something that emerges from your behavior over time.
To realize consistency, you need a leading measure. And that leading measure is continuity: the tendency to resume an activity after interruption.
A writer who returns to writing after missing a day exhibits continuity. An athlete who resumes training after a difficult week exhibits continuity. A business that revisits important priorities after disruption exhibits continuity.
Consistency is simply what continuity looks like when observed over time.
An interesting objection can be made here. One could argue that consistency is itself a leading measure because it is predictive and influenceable in relation to an ultimate goal. And this is where the crux of the matter lies: measures are relative.
Consistency lags relative to action. Results lag relative to consistency. What functions as a leading measure at one level can function as a lagging measure at another.
This means the immediate question is not whether you are being consistent. The immediate question is whether you are taking the action required today, right now.
If the action is to write, write. If the action is to train, train. If the action is to resume after interruption, resume.
Consistency is not the action. It is the accumulated result of actions repeated through time.
In all, look less at whether you are being consistent and more at whether you are returning. Focus less on maintaining an unbroken streak and more on resuming the activity. Consistency will arise from the frequency and reliability with which you return.
The path to consistency is not perfection. It is continuity.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for reading this piece on BasicPulse...
Do you have questions, suggestions or comments?
Please leave them in the comment section below.
Be remarkable!