Discipline and Consistency are the Key
I was number five of eight children. As a young child, my parents weren’t the most consistent and I was regularly late for school. In those days I got a belt of a ruler across the knuckles, or a slap on the ear for being late. At only six years of age I couldn’t understand why I was getting into trouble for something that was out of my control. As a young child I was reliant on others. Afraid of my awaiting fate, I would try to force down my breakfast quickly and be ready to go. Often left waiting for my mother to get one of my brothers out of bed or looking for a shoe or school bag. The harshness of the blow always depended on the teacher's mood. My teacher was rarely in a good mood. It was a bad way to start into a day of learning and somehow if you got a blow before the day started you were always a good target during the day.
At age 14 I found myself captain of the rugby team. I found the coach wasn’t up to the job. He didn’t have the skills needed to motivate us young kids. In fairness he wasn’t a professional coach and it was an additional role he took on, on top of his teaching job. I felt we could do better if we were fitter and before an upcoming cup match I'd get up before school for extra training. I would include as many of the team as I could persuade to join me.
The importance of discipline and consistency has never left me. As an adult I made sure never to be the reason one of my children would get into trouble for being late. Thankfully, beating children has long since become illegal.
Discipline and consistency are the two keys to health and fitness. You may achieve your goals without them, but when you’re chasing something big, or life-changing, they are absolutely essential. They also go hand in hand. Without discipline, it’s hard to be consistent in your actions. A disciplined runner follows the training plan, even if they are tired and sore and comfy in a nice warm bed. A disciplined healthy eater eats well even when it’s easier not to.
Discipline leads to consistency and helps you become consistent in your behaviour.
It keeps you making the right decisions and it stops your emotions and obstacles from getting in your way.
Consistency beats natural ability.
Disciplined runners are the most consistent in their training and therefore the most successful.
Abraham Lincoln said “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” If you ever wonder where you will be at any point in the future, look at your current life. Do you have fitness goals that you are working towards? Have you set out a plan that will get you to the finish line? Are you reading books, following an expert, taking a digital course on the topic to help you get there? Are you putting in the time and effort today, to achieve your goals? Or is there a chance you are sabotaging your success by not doing what you know will help you achieve your goal?
So how do you develop the characteristics of discipline and consistency? First you pick your goal. That’s the easy bit. What comes next will determine your actions for possibly several months. You find your why. When you get it right, your why will be the reason that gets you out of bed when you could just hit snooze and roll over. Once I have my why in place, I write up a plan and decide what I need to make my goals a reality.
To achieve any goal, there are three essential ingredients: A clear vision for what you want, a clear plan to get there, and the discipline and consistency to follow through.
I use a wall calendar. I mark in every run and note the mileage. At the end of every week I add up the mileage I have run and write it on the calendar right beside the mileage I should have run, from the training plan. On the days I don’t run I mark in a red marker what I did; ‘S’ for swim, ‘C’ for cycle, ‘Y’ for yoga, etc. At a glance I know if I am on target or if I am falling behind. Being on track builds confidence and confidence affects performance.
American philosopher Elbert Hubbard defined self-discipline as “the ability to do what you have to do, when you have to do it, whether you feel like it or not.” It is the one skill that is necessary above anything else to succeed in any endeavour. Whenever you decide not to do what you feel you should be doing, you not only waste your opportunity to grow as a person, but you also lose confidence in yourself. You start to see yourself as lazy and unsuccessful, and that self-image can become self fulfilling.
What we do day-to-day makes us who we are. What you practice consistently is what makes you yourself. A consistent running programme makes you a fitter, stronger person along with building your self-discipline and confidence. There is a tremendous sense of achievement when you pick a goal, choose a plan, develop the discipline and consistency to do it, and achieve it.
Discipline and consistency equals fun. Explain, I hear you say!
If you are on top of your training you will feel good and confident. It will possibly be fun and will certainly be more enjoyable. If you are behind and always playing catchup you will be struggling and possibly suffering. Therefore, discipline and consistency equals fun.