How to Stay Consistent: Why Small Actions Beat Motivation

Success doesn't come from what you do occasionally, it comes from what you do consistently. - Marie Forleo

The purpose of motivation is to help you get started. Consistency ultimately determines whether you keep going.

You can think of consistency as though it is a dial instead of an on/off switch. Some days you get a lot done, some days you don’t really get much done. The most important thing is that you show up at all, because that still counts. 

We have all had days when change feels easy. Some days you feel motivated to work out, study more, work better, eat better, save money, or find time for your loved ones. Some days you finally stick to that routine that you have made for yourself but have been putting off. The truth is that motivation is unpredictable. Some days it’s there, other days, it is nowhere to be found.  

You may ask yourself, “If my progress depends on how motivated I am, what happens after that feeling disappears?”

The answer to that question isn’t finding an endless sea of motivation; it is about learning how to keep moving forward without it. It is not a requirement to feel motivated every day just to find yourself making progress. You need to find a way forward on the days you don’t.

Why Is It So Hard to Stay Consistent

Why is it so hard to stay consistent?

Why can’t I stay consistent?

These are the questions many people ask themselves. Don’t blame the fact that you may lack discipline. There are many common reasons as to why people have trouble staying consistent. 

• People tend to start too big 
• Set expectations/goals that are too vague
• Try to change too many things at once
• Expect perfection
• Give up after any setback
• Make the habit too inconvenient to fulfill
• Rely too much on motivation

Monday: “I’m going to start my meal/diet plan this week, starting today”

Tuesday: ✓

Wednesday: ✓

Thursday:  You spot pizza that you just have to try, and you give in, deciding that it is "only one day", and you say "I ate pizza, I might as well get some dessert too"

Friday: “I already failed my diet, might as well eat whatever and restart on Monday”

The problem isn’t necessarily the fact that this person has a desire to change and failed it a few days in; it's the fact that this person immediately gives up even after one failed day, delaying the process further. This person decided that after failing, maybe it is better to just restart the whole process during "a fresh new week".

The system also may have been too difficult to sustain, and factors need to be considered. Many people create the illusion that if they fail, it is best to either give up or restart the process entirely to a new week, rather than just simply restarting the next day. It is important to note and realize that it is okay to fail; nobody is perfect. It is about how you move forward and the steps you take to improve and fix those mistakes.

Motivation vs. Consistency

Motivation is essentially a force that guides you and your behaviors. There are internal and external driving forces that help you to begin a goal, as well as a guiding and sustainable force. It gives you a reason to act, the willingness to move forward, guiding you past the obstacles ahead.

Motivation can help create a desire to act. Motivation is useful, however, it can fluctuate. 

Consistency is essentially the act of doing something the same way over time, repeatedly performing the behavior, regardless of the effort level. Performing something repeatedly, in the same way, can be very effective, a philosophy that was used in the film “The Karate Kid” and shown in “Star Wars” as well when Luke Skywalker was training to be a Jedi. 

Consistency Over Motivation

Motivation asks you: “Do I feel like doing this today”

Consistency asks you: “What is the smallest version that I can show up for today to help fulfill my goal”

The truth is that although motivation is important and can help, relying on it alone is very unreliable. Consistency helps you keep going; it teaches you to move forward.

How to be Consistent

In order to be consistent, it is important to design a system that can work even on your bad days, instead of purely relying on willpower alone. A lot of people think that they can just say: “I am going to start a diet today” or “I am going to start going to the gym ", and think that just by saying it or thinking it, it will magically make their goals/dreams come true. It is easier to say than to act. 

Start small.

Lower your minimum threshold.

Accept that you can fail or miss days.

Value the process.

Focus on who you are and what you are trying to achieve.

How to Stay Consistent

Start Small

Build habits that are smaller. Start small and scale your goals down to be more realistic to achieve. Make it so that it is truly hard to miss or fail. 

It is important to set different thresholds that you feel comfortable with: minimum, floor, and ceiling. 

You may decide to exercise for 60 minutes every day.

Instead

Choose to start by setting a goal to walk for 10 minutes every day.

Or

You may decide to read 50 pages every night

Instead

Choose to read just 5 pages.

The message is that the habit should be easy enough to repeat before you worry about increasing the load and making things too overwhelming for yourself. You have to ease yourself into it and, in a way, exercise your brain to get more used to the idea of the goals that you set.

Be Specific

When setting your habits/goals, it is important to remember that you need to be specific.

Don’t just say you want to study more. Try setting a habit that will help you reach that goal and build that habit.

Try: “Study for 20 minutes”

Don’t say you want to get healthier

Try: “Walk for 15 minutes”

Connect the Action to Something You Already Do

A specific behavior makes all the difference. It can also be beneficial to include more factors, such as including the specific time of day or a common activity/task that you know you do every day, such as going to the washroom or eating breakfast/lunch/dinner.

Instead, you can try:

“Study for 20 minutes after dinner”

                         OR

“Walk for 15 minutes after breakfast”

                         OR

“Meditate for 5 minutes after brushing my teeth”

Reduce the Friction

You need to ask yourself: “What makes this harder to do than it needs to be?”

If you want to exercise in the morning, what do you think can help to push you to do just that? Perhaps you can prepare your clothes the night before, serving as a reminder in the morning that sets off your brain.

If you want to read, leave the book somewhere visible that you know you will see every day; for example, if you want to read in bed, leave the book next to your bed, on your bedside table.

Do you want to get rid of distractions while studying? Put your phone in another room to help with that goal.  

Consistency isn’t only about the willpower you have. The environment that you set in front of you is key. The environment can make the desired behaviors easier or harder to perform.

Track Your Consistency

It is very difficult to evaluate consistency from just your memory alone. There truly is a reason to track your progress. Tracking your progress provides you with information that you need to know your progress.

You may think: “I have barely exercised this month”

But look at your tracker, and it shows that you have completed workouts 25/30 days. Because you missed days, it may feel like you aren’t doing a good job; however, seeing the progress visually shows a better example of how you are doing.

What to Do When You Lose Consistency

It is about creating a system to ensure that you stay consistent. A lot of people find trouble staying consistent; it is about having structure that you can follow to ensure you can get back on track.

1. Identify the reason(s) for why you stopped.
2. Don't try to make up for everything you missed.
3. Shrink the habit if necessary.
4. Choose your next opportunity to act on the habit you are trying to build.
5. Start tracking again.

The most important thing to remember is that there is no reason to wait. Don't make excuses to further delay the process. Don't wait for Monday (beginning of the week), the first day of a new month, or the first day of the new year (January 1st).

Your next opportunity is enough; don't wait for some magical day.

How Long Does It Take to Become Consistent

When it comes down to how long it takes to become consistent, there isn't some magic number that I can give you to promise consistency. There is no universal countdown to consistency.

Rather than asking yourself: "How many days until this action becomes automatic?"

You need to focus on, "How can I make this easier to repeat tomorrow?"

Just Keep Showing Up

The truth is, you won't always feel motivated.

Some days you will have the energy to do more, other days, simply showing up feels difficult. Some days your mood dictates how much you can do, and your mood can be unpredictable.

Even if simply showing up is difficult, that's okay.

The goal isn't to be perfect every day. The goal is to make your actions small enough, clear enough, and meaningful enough that you can keep returning to them and grow.

Consistency isn't built on the days when everything goes perfectly. It's built when you choose to keep going even when those days don't go perfectly.

This is what makes a habit tracker so valuable, because it makes those small actions visible. Instead of judging your progress based on one missed day, you can get the whole outlook, zoom out, and see all the days that you showed up.