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Question:
My willpower always lets me down I can stick to a plan of action for a few days at a time. Then I always slide back. Once, I was even able to complete 30 days in a row. I was hoping that this would form a habit that would stick. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen, and I ended up going back to my old ways again. For me, this looks like inconsistency, frustration, and disappointment. Originally, I was having procrastination issues with study. But since finishing school, it has shown up in other areas of my life. Things that really should be fun for me (painting -which I was always good at, exercise etc) are now areas I struggle to stay consistent with. I know that in order to achieve any real progress or level of skill, I’ll need to stay consistent over time. But some days my motivation just isn’t there and I fail to take action. How can I become consistent and end this pattern of sliding back into old patterns after short-term success? - Anthony
Answer:
Consistency is truly the king of all lasting change. But consistency in what is the question?
Are you consistently in the right mindset? This is all that matters. But how do you get into that mindset?
You may notice that it’s your emotional state that ends up sabotaging you. This is where the issue can be solved.
Pushing harder (and berating yourself) will accomplish nothing. This will only cultivate resentment towards the things in your life you should be enjoying and growing in.
Set aside some time for each of your goals (e.g., 30 minutes for painting, 30 minutes for exercise). That is an intention you can set for yourself.
If when the time starts, you feel fantastic, jump right into action.
However, if you feel terrible, it’s time to do some inner work first.
Do some writing about why you feel so stuck. Where are these negative thoughts coming from? Why does it seem so hard, overwhelming? Why am I even doing this at all? What am I trying to accomplish?
In that time, you are only permitted to take action if you can get to the point where you feel positive and encouraged about taking action.
Remember, 5-minutes of action taken with the right mindset is better than 30 minutes with the wrong mindset.
This way, you’ll be cultivating a healthy, compassionate, encouraging mindset CONSISTENTLY.
Your emotional stability will become consistent. This was always the real issue!
If you commit to this, your mindset will be corrected and consistent action cannot but follow.
You may be reluctant to try this approach as it focuses primarily on mindset rather than action. However, if you give it a try, you’ll learn than not only will the amount of action you take increase, but the quality and enjoyment of that action will increase. And when I say increase, I mean dramatically!