Consistency is the key

How many times have you heard this, nodded in agreement, reflected on it, motivated yourself, slept over it and then shelved it at the bottom-most drawer of your mind?

You know this. Intelligently and factually. But this still doesn't form a picture in your mind or give a very relatable feeling yet and hence, "consistency" all by itself has become a goal rather than being a medium to achieve the goal. So, it is important to straighten out the image.

Consistency, here, is an observation of how recurrently you have been working out, still sticking to your macros, sleeping at the same time and all the other lifestyle patterns you can think of. That's all it is. An observation.

What it means is "consistency" itself is not something you can do. But you can workout 3-5 days a week, look back after a month and say, "Oh! I have been pretty consistent lately".

So, it comes back to the old adage- Focus on what is in your control and let go of the will to control the results. Here, what it translates to is, working out today is in your control. That is it! Even, "working out tomorrow", is not completely in your control. So, how do you expect to turn on a switch called consistency?

Let's dial back to looking at things which are in our control and all the variables which impact it. The reasons I would workout today are:

• I know how I feel when I don't workout vs when I workout. If I don't workout today, I am opening up a possibility of being inconsistent and I absolutely hate how I feel when I have not worked out for a period of time. I feel like a hollow rubber sack.

• I am in a middle of a program which has defined objectives. I am pretty excited to carry it out and see whether the results match up with the theoretical expectations.

• I have a vision of the road map that I created and I have an integral understanding of how much I will gain or lose if I finish today's workout session.

• This is as much a part of my day as much as having lunch or brushing my teeth.

• Regardless of whether other aspects of my day are cumulatively positive or negative, workout is definitely a positive and I can not be more certain that I am going to feel good after the session.

• I am confident with my way around the gym and can easily visualize my workout with the best of form and movement.

Now, if I live my life in the present, I will be conscious of the factors directly in my control and I will be able to do it every day. Not for the sake of being consistent but because of the reasons mentioned above. And suddenly I observe how consistent I am.

This is what you have to find. The factors enabling or disabling your today's decision to workout and just work on that. It simplifies the whole process. And when we solve one bit every single day/week/month, you will observe how consistently you have been working on yourself.

The said factors are:

• Knowledge of all variables of the workout/diet

• Foundation of how to move forward. A syllabus of sorts

• What is the current objective or the intention of the program?

• What is the least I should expect out of my workout?

• Time. How much time do I need to do something which is effective to the least standard?

• Procrastination and laziness. The world won't go upside down if I skip it today.

This is it. We have simplified the entire chaos around fitness into 6 different factors. Now there are a few ways to address these factors and remove all major obstacles into making the decision (and following through with it). They ways are:

• Do it yourself. Invest time and effort into learning from the tons of content online.

• Get a certification.

• Hire a coach.

• DIY + get a gym buddy with equal passion and enthusiasm.

The point is, someone (you or someone else) has to instill this reference system around these six factors, where you can draw a picture of yourself working out.

If you cannot picture yourself working out today, look at the list again. The answer lies there.

Take the smallest step to find the answer today and tomorrow will be a new day again with something beyond just a new hope.

Just look at TODAY.