Achieving your goals is a process, and without consistency, you may find yourself stuck, hence the term “grease.” One of the most important aspects of being successful is being consistent. And for many people, it can be one of the hardest aspects as well.

We’ve all had a time when we embark on a journey to achieve a goal but after a few days, weeks or months, we lose momentum or stop all together – it could be a New Year’s resolution that’s now forgotten or a new strategy to motivate your employees.

What Do We Mean by Consistency?

First, let’s explain a little more about what we mean by consistency. Doing the same thing, the same way each time, even when it’s become less effective, is being consistent. However, that type of consistency isn’t going to get you very far!

By consistency, we mean adhering steadfastly to our goals or principles — it means not giving up even when things get difficult or seemingly impossible.

Why Consistency Is Important to Achieving Goals

Have you ever known someone who tries one thing, gives up, races to the next thing, does that for a while, gives up, and so on?

It could be someone who changes jobs so often that they never get ahead, or a college student who continually drops in and out of school and never graduates, or software developer who starts new coding projects but never finishes them. These are all examples of how a lack of consistency can hinder success.

To be a winner, you can’t let the occasional missed hurdle keep you from reaching the finish line. People who achieve their goals did it by not giving up.

Don’t Let a Misstep Turn into a Fall

The biggest aspect of being consistent is to recognize a step back, and then proceed forward. Whether you stopped exercising, started a business that failed, or quit school — you can try again.

Keep Your Goals Realistic and Achievable

There’s a reason why colleges offer degree programs for working students that go beyond the 2 or 4-year scope and healthy weight loss programs advocate losing only a pound or two per week instead of 10 — so people can reach their goals.

It’s commendable to set a sky-high goal — but if you create truly unrealistic goals, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Your goals should be a series of steps so you can see how well you’re doing and build on each step to reach the top.

Make an Action Plan

Review situations in your life when you weren’t successful and try to identify the reason why — what caused you to give up on something?

Now consider which obstacles are likely to pop up when you’re trying to achieve your next goal.

Just as a Boy Scout is taught to be prepared for anything when he heads off on a camping trip, prepare yourself for anything that might get in your way. If you at least have some idea in advance how you’re going to overcome a setback, you’ll have a much better chance at accomplishing your goal.

“Many of life’s failures are experienced by people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison

With consistency, especially after a slip, you’ll gain better traction, and will be even more aware of those stumbling blocks that can hinder you along the way.

I call this type of consistency “tenacious endurance” and you can learn more by checking out my book, WINology – World Class Performance!

What got in the way of achieving your goals? Let us know in the comments what you would do differently next time!

Image quote attribution: Winston Churchill