I haven’t missed a morning workout in over 9 years.
I am closing in on 7 years of daily meditation.
I just passed my 5-year mark of daily blogging.
Many people tell me I’m the Queen of Consistency.
In the areas mentioned above, I am.
And in other areas, not so much.
I don’t want to perpetuate any myth of perfection.
In recent years I’ve had my starts and stops with social media. There are plenty of places where my implementation doesn’t line up with my intentions.
That said, I’ve dissected the areas in which I’ve mastered consistency to extract the core mindsets and beliefs that power those results.
There are many factors that contribute to creating consistency.
Even more important than what you must do is what you must eliminate:
Feeling.
Leave Feeling Out of It
One of the most common questions people ask me is,
Do you ever have days when you don’t feel like working out?
Do you ever have days when you don’t feel like writing?
Do you ever have days where you lose the energy of what you were writing and don’t feel like publishing it?
My answer is.
Yes. Of course I do.
I’m a human being, not a robot.
But I made a commitment and I follow through on that commitment, even when I don’t feel like it.
Even when the energy isn’t there.
In this one sense, you do need to be a little “robotic,” by taking feeling and emotion out of it.
3 Benefits of Showing Up No Matter What
I’ve had long stretches where I didn’t “feel like” writing, or exercise, or meditation. But I showed up anyway.
Eventually, you will “feel like it” again.
And when that happens, you’ll reap the benefits of showing up even when you didn’t feel like it.
(1) Energy Comes From Action
First, the energy that propels you to do the thing you want to do is more likely to resurge more quickly if you’ve been showing up for it.
For example, by showing up at the gym even when you don’t feel like exercising, you put yourself in proximity to other people who are exercising. This can help recharge your energy to exercise.
(2) Reinforce Your Practice
Second, when that energy does return, you won’t have to retrain the practice.
By showing up even when you don’t feel like it, you keep the wheels in motion. You reinforce the neural pathways involved in doing the practice.
(3) Prove to Yourself That You Keep Your Word
Third, by training yourself to show up regardless of how you feel, you reinforce your identity as a person who keeps their word. You’ll gain confidence in your ability to show up notwithstanding how you feel.
Your feelings are temporary. The boost you’ll get from showing up for your practice, even when you don’t feel like it, will last much longer.
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