Consistency Vs Persistence

I consistently go to the gym six days a week! I am up around 3:21-3:30 am, and I read and get ready to head out. Today, while at the gym, I began to really think about things. I noticed the crowd was bigger than normal, and that is because it is the start of the new year. Many people commit that they will consistently go the gym. They commit that they will eat right, do cardio, etc.

I believe that it is a beautiful thing to set those types of goals, but let me explain why many fail and they fail fast. You see, there is a difference between consistency and persistence. To be consistent is to do the same thing over and over; it is having a routine. You consistently wake up in the morning on your side of the bed, maybe grab your glasses, drink some water, and then stretch and say I don't feel like going to work. 

Consistency in relationships might be waking up, saying good morning, and seeing you later before you leave. Upon returning home, you give a hug and maybe say how was your day and watch some tv and then do the same thing the next day. In the begining howeever it was not like that! There was affection, there was intimacy, you smiled just at the thought of your partner.

You see, that is the difference from persistence. You can be consistent because everything is the same, there is no opposition, no roadblocks, nothing that challenges you. To be persistent, however, you have to go through some things and still push through! The example that I just gave you about relationships is an example of being consistent. Your relationship went from showing love to consistently just occupying the same space.

If you're persistent, when life presents you with obstacles, maybe you guys now have kids, maybe work has been draining you, push through to maintain the level of commitment that you had in the beginning. My example of the gym is the same thing. You are consistent with what is comfortable, but pretty soon, you find yourself looking at the weather, and it will be too cold to go to the gym that day, you will complain that it is too crowded, or you don't have time. One of the biggest battles is when you have been consistantly been going to the gym, but you are not seeing the results. One of the biggest reasons why you are not seeing results, however, is that you are not pushing yourself. Your body is used to the workouts, but you're comfortable, and you know that changing the workout could be challenging.

So this is where the problem arises, you hang on to the consistency part, but you can be consistently stangnant but when you're persistent, you have to go through something, or as I like to say, "grow through something."