Consistency is the Hardest Thing to Maintain

It's close to the end of the year again, and soon it's New Year. It's a time we look forward to the future; it's also a time we look back at our life. It's a time we make New Year resolutions; it's also a time we examine our old ones and renew those unfulfilled. Because after all, making a resolution and sticking to it is just as important as coming up with new ones.

For those old ones that are unfulfilled, mostly, we did take it very seriously in the beginning and have done it for a while. But gradually, our interest started to dwindle, our commitment faded, and our resolution just fizzled out.

The key is consistency. The problem is consistency. The difficulty is consistency - whether we can do everything we committed to do consistently. And more often than not, this is harder than we think.

In January, we signed up for the membership of a fitness center. At the time we signed up, we had passion and high motivation. After a few weeks we started to skip a time or two. After a few months, as life gets busier, we used the membership less and less frequently. Eventually, we comforted ourselves that a bit overweight doesn't hurt, and fitness doesn't pay the rent. Commitment is easy to be compromised.

Or, we signed up for a yoga class. Over time, we thought to ourselves, "Instead of going to the class, I can just do home practice, right?" Doing home practice is a good thing, but it can be hard to maintain if you can't maintain attending the class. They require the same thing: commitment and consistency. And the power of yoga can not shine if not done consistently.

A lot of things are like that, requiring consistency to make a difference. For instance, Thanksgiving is a time that reminded us to be thankful. Yet, being thankful should be carried out during other time of year, too. And that's the real meaning of the holiday.

Likewise, Buddhism teaches love and compassion. We are all loving and compassionate sometimes, but what really makes a difference is whether that mindset can be maintained at all moments. That difference - the consistency - is the difference between human beings and Buddha, one fluctuating in between love and hatred, compassion and selfishness, while the other staying constantly in love and compassion.

Even one single thing done consistently in life can be magical. And if one thing can be done, that developed mindset and habit is transferable - you are more able to do other committed things consistently too. To help develop consistency, here are some tips:

1. Be realistic about what you are committing to do. Don't make those goals that are far off your current lifestyle. Drastic change is unlikely to maintain long. Our life has momentum, and it takes one little change of direction at a time.

2. If making New Year resolutions, for instance, make as few resolutions as possible, and stick to it. By making few ones, you will figure out what truly matters and what doesn't. Besides, making two resolutions and achieving all, is better than making ten and achieving none.

3. Get some support. Find a partner that sets similar goals and encourage each other.

Once the new habit becomes part of your system, you will do it spontaneously - like breathing. This is the killer way towards consistency.