The Importance of consistency

I have always been a fat kid. I love food, and the crunchier, the better. I think I started getting fat when I shifted to Ludhiana. I was,s eleven and puberty had just hit. I was lonely and taken away from my roots. Going through hormonal changes and being in a new environment, I took refuge in food. I remember I never really liked food before that. However, in Ludhiana, I relished the taste and gobbled large amounts of food. It was primarily carbs and fats. Makki ki roti with dollops of white butter, naturally, I ballooned like an exhibit at a local fair.

I have always tried to lose weight. In my mind, I am always on a diet. Whether I am having oily butter chicken or a carb-laden burger, in my mind, I will burn it. Naturally, I am fooling myself. The few times I have lost weight, though, is when I have made it a part of my routine. A fixed time for exercise, a diet I can stick with and a routine I enjoy. The results are not immediate, but because I have stuck to a routine, after a few months, I start seeing the changes. The clothes fit better, I am more active, and I can run longer distances. When I was younger, it also meant that I would get a second look from the fairer sex.

The key here is consistency. I stick to an approach and, over time, do the same thing again and again to move the needle to get results. I have seen this in multiple things in my life—whether it's preparing for an exam, working towards a business target, or even in relationships—being present consistently. The saying goes: slowly, slowly, and then all at once.

We live in a world with multiple distractions. Every few months, there is a new shiny thing and a trend that needs to be followed. In a world with multiple distractions, sticking to one’s path is rewarded. It takes 10 thousand hours to get good at something. But what makes one stick to a routine? To me, it takes a few things to stick to a routine. You should have a sight of the end goal - what you want to achieve. Secondly you should have a routine which you enjoy - you should enjoy the process of working towards the goal and it should not feel like a chore. Lastly, You should have some way to measure at particular intervals. You need some form of early even minuscule success. It might be losing about 500 gm of weight. Or being to solve the end of chapter assignment or getting slightly higher revenues. Then it becomes a flywheel - you enjoy the process and hence you do, then you get success and get more motivated and then do better because you enjoy the process.

So, to achieve any goal in life - Be consistent and make the process enjoyable.