#34 Why Are We Inconsistent?

Why are we inconsistent?  This is a title that everybody wants to understand, including myself.  Why am I inconsistent with?  At 19 years old, I’m thinking that I want to go into bodybuilding.  I’m building my body, but I’m working blue-collar jobs in order to save money, move to Columbus, and realize my dreams. 

Prior to moving to Columbus, I worked a job at both the coal mine and sawmill.  My lunch consisted of salami & cheese sandwiches and Little Debbie Hostess cakes that I would buy at the gas station on the way to work.  I drank regular Dr. Pepper and I chewed Redman Golden Blend.  That was my fucking lunch.  And I thought I was being a bodybuilder.  I didn't take any protein supplements.  I didn't take amino acids.  I just didn't know.  I was eating things that weren’t benefitting me in the slightest bit.

A Deeper Education

I finally began educating myself on those things that were best for me.  When I understood how things worked and applied what I learned, I began to teach.  This process allowed me to become more consistent.  I understood that if I still ate my coal miner and sawmill lunch, then my goals wouldn't be attained.

Not Knowing Enough

One reason I believe some people are inconsistent is because they don’t know enough about the subject.  If I chose to eat pizza four days a week, I know exactly what to expect.  Before I was educated on the subject, I was completely unaware of the breakdown and insulin spike side effects of bread.  How would I know? 

Nowadays, there are vast amounts of resources available at our disposal.  If there’s something in your life that you're inconsistent with, start to allocate 20-30 minutes to studying that subject.

Unawareness

Maybe you're unaware of why it's not working.  Whether it's life, business, or fitness, it doesn't matter.  Maybe you keep trying to do the same thing over and over.  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.

Are you unaware?  Do you need to seek out more information to gain a better understanding?  Increasing your self-awareness is going to boost your ability to choose the shit that you know is going to work better.  As a result, you’re way more consistent with your actions.  Make yourself more aware of why things aren’t working.  Only then will you be able to learn from the process to be more consistent.

Choosing Not to Do It

You understand how to do it, but you don’t do it.  You're just saying I don't want to.  Maybe you don’t have a clear direction or path for where you want to go.  Maybe you’re aimlessly wandering in multiple directions.  Maybe you don’t have any goals set.

Goals excite you.  Brainstorm and come up with your own goals that excite you.  Come up with goals that make you want to get out of bed every day.  You now have the awareness and understanding, and now it’s time to put it into play.  You’re now choosing to be consistent.  We must intentionally cultivate more self-awareness in order to be more consistent with our goals.

Business

It's the same in business.  If you understand the factors that have led to growth with your business, then you know it’s something you must continue to do.  If I’m not fully aware of what’s working, then my business could suffer.

Think about online bloggers.  People that write once or twice a week but are extremely consistent.  Think about the results over time from this kind of consistency with something you’re truly passionate about.

Significant Others

Think about your relationships.  Are you consistently doing something that your significant other doesn’t like, doesn’t find value in, feels indifferent about, or hurts their feelings?  Is it helping or hurting your relationship?  Having this type of self-awareness is important.  If it’s not there, you can do some damage. 

Break it Down

Make a list of the things that you are inconsistent with.  Then, figure out how to create awareness.  Educate yourself and create a consistent pattern to fix it.  We all have things that we’re inconsistent with, including myself.  We’re either being consistent with the wrong stuff or consistent with the right stuff.  Take inventory.