Consistency Before Complaints

There is no failure, only feedback. But you can’t know what to change unless you know what’s going on. The formula for success often involves being your scientist.

As a scientist, you base decisions on hard data and evidence, not feelings or subjective perceptions.

Think back to your elementary school science classes.
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• You begin with a hypothesis.
• You decide what data to collect.
• You gather the data.
• You analyze the data and conclusions.

Along those lines, you’ll find that many of the most successful people journal and take copious notes. Your journal is the data that will tell you what is working and not working.

Journaling allows you to answer the all-important question: How’s that working for you, which you can more objectively answer by reflecting on the following questions.

What's working well so far?
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Where are you successful? What improvements are you noticing? In what ways are you improving, making progress, etc.?

How closely and consistently are you following your plan?
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Have you followed your action plan, to-do list, etc. every day? Have you done the work that you’re supposed to do every day?

​Generally speaking, the more closely you consistently follow the plan, the better your results will be.

At the end of the day, if you want to improve your outcome, improve your behaviors.

Along those lines, the 90/10 rule often applies: If you do the “right things right” 90% of the time, you'll get fantastic results while still having some wiggle room.
If you’re the type of person who likes to quantify things, use your journal to measure how well you're sticking to whatever practices, habits, etc., you’re focused on.

This will help you see where you are doing well, and where you could do more of that good stuff. Here's how.

• Decide what counts. Measure what is truly valuable and useful to you, and what will get you where you want to go. Each day, check off whether you met your criteria. Did you do your exercise? Did you eat lean protein at each meal? Did you wake up without hitting snooze? Did you go to bed before midnight? Did you work on your #1 priority?
• Assess your overall habit consistency. At the end of the week, assess your consistency.
• Look for the "bright spots" and success patterns As you go through your journal, notice what works best for you, and then figure out how to do more of that.

​Are you more successful . . .

. . . at certain times of day?
. . . in certain situations?
. . . with certain habits?

Look for what is already working well. Where you already feel solid and confident. How could you do more of that good stuff? Find the system that works for you.

If doing the habits 90% of the time seems too hard, no problem. This is your journey.

Now that you know that habit consistency equals results, you choose your optimal strategies and adherence level. Maybe life is crazy for you right now, and 40% consistency is a victory. Congratulations!

Maybe you're regularly hitting 60%, but you think with some smart planning, you could get up to 70%. Congratulations again! Go for it!

Better habit consistency means better results. Just be a little bit better. Even small improvements help a lot. How could you make that happen?

​To a better you!