Consistency
You know the old adage, consistency is everything.
It’s been a year since we started our newsletter and so we wanted to take a moment to celebrate this milestone. It feels like it took a very long time to implement a newsletter into our business and there were a few reasons for that:
1. We don’t do things just because we think we “should”.
2. We don’t really like most newsletters we receive, so why?
3. Time.
But we make time for what is important and what excites us. Once we refocused on what we wanted to do with the newsletter, we had the drive to execute. And what we really wanted was to send the people we get to work with something that made them feel good. That sounded fun and felt right. Once we had decided on our direction, we wanted to stay consistent with this concept for a year. Really give it solid effort. And as of this month we have had 12 different opportunities to send warm and happy feelings to our colleagues. It may be a small thing in the grand scheme of business, but doing something consistently gives you a sense of pride.
To celebrate this win we decided to ask the Queen of Consistency a bunch of questions about this very topic. Lucy Dunne, founder of Dunnebells is a personal trainer/influencer. She has built a successful business by being consistent, and she guides her clients to apply the same principles to their health and wellness.
She walks the walk, so I’m positive you will get something valuable out of this post.
The definition of consistency is - conformity in the application of something, typically that which is necessary for the sake of logic, accuracy, or fairness. What does consistency mean to you?
Consistency to me means doing the things that you know are for the greater good even when it’s difficult, not just when it’s convenient or you feel like it. Consistency for me comes from the habits that I build and the things that I practice.
In your experience, what is the biggest barrier to consistency?
It’s hard! It’s difficult! And for the most part, it’s lonely. When you own a company there isn’t always someone there looking out for you or over you to check if you did that thing you said you would do. It requires drive and a set of skills that can be developed but are not easy to maintain.
Asking myself these important questions have helped me remain consistent:
- How do I stay motivated?
- What are the greater goals that will come as a result of this consistency?
Finding something that I LOVE to do which makes being consistent feel easier.
When we are feeling overwhelmed, how do we remain consistent with what’s really important?
I am a list person and I use Asana to project manage everything that needs to get done on a daily, weekly, quarterly and yearly basis. Only the important things go on my list. I have learnt to outsource and hire people for the things that are not in my zone of genius and this has been, and will continue to be, what helps me focus on the improvement of things and remain consistent even when feeling a little overwhelmed.
What parts of our personal lives require the most consistency?
Our health and wellness - obviously I am biased. But I truly believe when we take care of ourselves first, everything else becomes a little easier.
For me, sleep, hydration, nutrition and movement are the fundamentals that I focus on every single day to ensure I can be consistent in my personal and professional life.
And what parts of our business lives require the most consistency?
This is a great question! Being a leader. Consistently being the leader as a CEO is what I believe requires the most consistency. On some days that will look like interviewing and hiring. Other days, it may be attending a conference about leadership. It may also mean that you take a step back and allow the team to do things without you even when it’s scary. Practicing leadership and trying to be as consistent as possible with this is what I believe is one of the most important parts.
How do we remain consistent when we don't have as much time as we'd like, or as we'd planned for?
For business - I’m a planner - we all have the same amount of hours in the day. I don’t often wish for more time because I believe that with proper planning this shouldn’t be something that we struggle with. Sure, it’s not always perfect and some tasks or projects need to get pushed, but for the most part with proper planning this should alleviate the constant desire for “more time”.
For my personal life - time is our most valuable asset. I’m the girl who wants to live to be 100. One of my biggest life fears is getting older. I wish I could hit pause sometimes. That’s why I truly try to live every single day as though it’s my last and make sure I’m spending my time wisely, doing things that fill my cup.
Lucy is a wonderful example of what a person can achieve if they stay consistent, and stay consistent with the most important things. Note that at no point has the word perfect been used in this post. Delegate, focus, practice, habits, wellness...but not perfection. So do your best and be consistent, but most importantly be proud of the consistencies in your life.