Grit 2.0 -- Consistency Over Intensity (#226)
Half of 2022 is behind us. Have the plans you set in motion in January come to fruition? Are you still on the path to accomplishing your goals? Or have you auspicious plans fizzled out within a few weeks or months?
I think we all have started something new or different with great excitement and motivation only to lose it within a few weeks or months. I know I had high hopes of starting work on my second book in the spring but work and other events got in the way.
Here is the typical pattern:
Intense motivation and excitement to get started
Intense activity
Injury, fatigue, or burn-out
Stop the activity all together
This pattern happens with diets, exercise routines, saving money, and many other growth areas of life. The enthusiasm that gets us started actually becomes our worst enemy.
Grit is “the will to persevere to achieve long term goals.” Many of us have used grit to accomplish our goals. Intensity out of the gate won’t get you to your long range goals. It is better to follow a “slow and steady wins the race” pattern, like the best athletes, performers, writers, and entrepreneurs do.
Consistency Over Intensity
The concept of consistency over intensity says that it’s better to start with a routine that is easy, practical, and enjoyable. Why? Because the easier and more enjoyable the activity, the more likely you are to stick to it over the long run.
So instead of choosing the most intense diet, exercise routine, or financial strategy, it is better to pick the routine that YOU can stick to. Even if the routine seems tiny and simple, ask yourself what you can commit to with certainty at this point in your life.
With my executive coaching clients, I always try to get them to start exercising for 10 minutes a day. Even the busiest executive can find 10 minutes in their schedule to walk around the office, climb some stairs, or do push-ups or sit-ups. Once they have established the habit of doing 10 minutes a day, if they get more exercise in one day that is great. It is a bonus. But, if they only get the 10 minutes in, no problem — it is better than doing nothing. Reframing what is acceptable is the first step in accomplish long term goals. And in the long run, doing 10 minutes of exercise a day six days a week is better than doing one intensive hour-long workout once a week.
Grinding it out trumps intensity every time. For the busy executive who never has time to tackle the big strategic challenges since her day gets consumed by dealing with the present, I try a similar approach. Instead of trying to schedule an hour to work on the strategic challenge, I ask the executive to commit to doing 10 minutes a day on the project when she first gets in the office. The executive may have to divide the project into smaller increments than usual, but tackling small micro-projects eventually delivers incredible results on the big projects.
For better long term results, choose consistency over intensity every time. Try it and see if it works for you.
Conclusion
Want even more? Reach out to me me here for help growing your grit through executive coaching or a workshop.
I published a book last summer on how to develop your perseverance and accomplish your goals — Grow Your Grit, available for sale at Amazon or check out TFCG’s keynote presentation for groups large and small.
Go on the offense and use consistency as your ally to accomplish big things!
