According to Merriam-Webster, consistency can mean several different things which include but not limited to: agreement or harmony of parts or feature to one another or a whole as well as harmony of conduct or practice with. With these definitions I will dive into both at the same time with my explanation of consistency in life/health or even with your workout/movement routines. Most professionals in the work force that are highly successful or even professional athletes when asked how did you get to where you are now answered with a simple explanation, being consistent. It's also important to find what works specifically for you, but consistency is key. There is not a one answer, one workout, one diet, one anything that works "for everyone." But we can take a little bit of a lot of different things, apply them to our situation, be consistent with it and get the outcomes that we are looking for. I see it everyday in clinic, people start out with a routine and will stay strong to course, but to only drop off when "life" gets in the way, or they get "tired" and need a break. Life doesn't stop for you to catch up, life keeps moving forward. Consistency is when you are tired and don't feel like doing anything, but you show up and put in the work regardless of your feelings. Yes, there will be ups and downs, but with consistency, the ups get better, and the downs get less drastic. In my own opinion, the most important part of being consistent is the ability to keep showing up. While in chiropractic school, living 120 miles from campus and having to drive in LA traffic everyday to and from, the one voice I kept hearing the most told me to keep showing up, keep putting in the work and everything will fall into place. In short, it did - 253,000 miles later and countless hours in the car driving, I made it and graduated. It was that mindset that helped me stay focused and embrace the hard moments and appreciate the wins that much more. I try to apply that to most things I do day to day. I would go as far as say, stay away from social media as it tends to romanticize and over glamorize things because people can "make up their own stories," or put a filter on it to make it appear that things can be done "quickly." There will always be outliers, but for the most part it takes years of blood, sweat, tears of sadness and tears of joy to get anything in life. That is the definition of consistency in my opinion. Strength takes years to achieve, success takes for most even longer came across a quote not to long ago about how an arrow can only be shot forward by being pulled back, so when you feel like life is dragging you back it may mean that you are about to get launched into something great. So stay focused and be consistent.
