Consistency

I don't think I am a very consistent man.

I work out three times a week.
I write almost daily.
I don't practise my sport every week.
And I definitely don't take photos every day.

The problem isn't that I don't have enough time or money, or the right gear, or even that life gets in the way. My problem is me, and anything else is an excuse.

We always want something.
We always want to achieve something.
And we have drive, but after a while, that drive subsides.

We begin to go back to our old ways because our default was easier; that is why we always go back to it, even if that way of life isn't good for us in the long run. Our brains are only focused on the now, not a perceived possible future.

If we know we are inherently flawed as humans, then it is our habits that are the problem. We need something that is not easier to do, but just what we do. We need something that we always do. It needs to be the first thing we pick up — the habit, the routine, the habitual addiction. Something we don't even think about; we just do it. So how do we turn what we want to do, something we never do on a consistent basis, into something habitual?

We remove all temptation. If you want to stop eating cookies, you throw all the cookies into the bin. That way, when you want one, there aren't any, so you go to the next best thing. And we want that next best thing to become our habit.

That can be abstinence or piggybacking on an already good habit. For me, I want to work out every second day, I want to write daily, and I want to film YouTube videos. Currently, my writing is not consistent, and my YouTube is non-existent. But I work out 3 times a week. So I can either piggyback off my workout routine, or I can remove all temptations that stop me from filming YouTube videos.

Removing all temptations from my house is impossible. I need my computer to work, I need my phone to work, and my wife likes our TV. So the next best thing to do is piggyback off an already established good habit: working out. So I have to write and film after a workout. That is my fix, my north star to forming a new habit.

Will it work?
I have no idea, but what I will say is that there is no harm in trying. Test, learn, repeat. That is all we can do.

I don't think I am a very consistent man. All I can do is try. That is good enough for me.

What is it that you want to to become a consistent habit in your life?