"Intensity makes a good story. Consistency makes progress." - James Clear
In first days of January I remember going to work out and saw a lot of people would come in. Everyone wanted to get fit motivated by their new Year's Resolutions and to prepare for carnival. After the carnival ended fewer people came every day, until half the year everyone was gone.
It was easy for people to start a new habit but it was very hard to be consistent. They were motivated to go just for a few months and they stopped.
What they don't realize is they stopped the compounding effect. As James Clear said "Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement."
Compounding works when tiny gains accumulate over a period of time. As Naval said "All the returns in life, whether in wealth, relationships, or knowledge, come from compound interest".
If you skip doing a habit for while, and come back again the compound effect has to start over.
“The first rule of compounding: Never interrupt it unnecessarily.” - Munger
Consistency is valuable because in every compounding game, you win if you focus on accumulating tiny gains over time.
It is like a game, where you gain points if you show up everyday and by the third day you have accumulated 15 points. If you miss twice, you are back to zero.
Why is so hard to build consistency? Because we’re focused on the outcome rather than the process. And sometimes we feel lazy and unmotivated, sometimes life happens and we get interrupted, sometimes we get afraid or worried that what we’re doing isn’t worthwhile so we stopped the compounding effect unnecessarily.
Once you are focus on the process, your progress is your motivator.
There's a lot of research that indicates both greater levels of life satisfaction, and higher levels of positive emotions when striving for goals. The association was larger when successful goal pursuit was defined as goal progress, instead of goal attainment.
What it means is, we're happy when we seek progress, not results.
How build consistency?
Aim for progress, and start measuring your progress on a daily basis. As James Clear says "It is only through numbers and clear tracking that we have any idea if we are getting better or worse."
Measuring help us become aware. The things we are aware about are the things we improve. It also helps us stay motivated, because we know we are improving.
When measuring we need to focus on what we can control. It is important to focus on outputs than the outcome. Because all your results are delayed.
To keep track of your progress, one simple and effective thing you can do is use a habit tracker. Having a tracker will help you keep accountable and motivated, even when it was hard.
Using visual measures are satisfying and rewarding, because it provides clear evidence of progress. The goal is to keep showing up and "never break the chain".
This was the strategy of Jerry Seinfeld, one of the most successful comedians of all‐time. What is most impressive about Seinfeld's career isn't the awards, the earnings, or the special moments — it's the remarkable consistency of it all.
Seinfeld was asked in a interview if he had “any tips for a young comic." He said:
"Get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker. He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day.
“After a few days you'll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You'll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job is to not break the chain.”
Seinfeld didn't say a single thing about results. He simply focused on “not breaking the chain.”
"Never break the chain" is a powerful mantra because the more you keep compounding progress, the sooner you'll be getting results.
When you inevitably miss a routine, be compassionate with yourself. Learn to not judge yourself or feel guilty when you make a mistake, and get back on track as quickly as possible. As James Clear likes to say, never miss twice.
All You Need to Know
To wrap up, here are the important points:
Build habits that keep compounding. As Albert Einstein said "Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world". Your habits compound by being consistent.
Focus on accumulating tiny gains and never interrupt the compounding effect unnecessarily.
Build consistency by measuring your progress. Using a habit tracker is effective because will keep accountable and motivated.