If you spend any time around successful people, you are bound to hear them speak about the importance of consistency. It is almost a universally understood truth that to make it big, you have to show up and put in work every day. That leads us to beg the question, if everyone knows this, why doesn’t everyone do it?
The answer is simple; people believe that they have to be perfect every time.
That’s what throws everyone off their game. It’s why they don’t show up day two, three, or three hundred. Because that one day they weren’t perfect, they quit.
To me, it is the craziest phenomenon. I’ve watched people who were much more talented than me fold under the pressure they put on themselves to be perfect.
Missed one workout?
Fine, I quit.
Ate one donut?
Fine, I quit.
Didn’t fill out my journal last night?
Fine, I quit.
Didn’t make that sale yesterday?
Fine, I quit.
What is mindboggling to me about this is that we inherently know that we aren’t perfect, nor is it even attainable. Yet, we do not afford ourselves the grace to have a setback. We know when we set our goals that we are trying to accomplish something major, so why not expect a few pitfalls along the way?
When it is all said and done, it’s the people who anticipate that there will be shortcomings, mistakes, and failures that have the propensity to find themselves on the other side of failure– not perfect–but successful.
RAMBLINGS OF AN OL' INFANTRYMAN: 