The Law of Consistency says that Motivation Gets You Going – Discipline Keeps You Growing.  I don’t like this law.  You might think that is strange because I teach this law but the fact is, I struggle with law possibly more than any of the Laws that John Maxwell provides in his book The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth.

I will admit, I get motivated all the time to do something different, change the way I am doing something or maybe just start something new.  The problem is that my motivation does not turn into discipline and in many cases, I leave unfinished projects or start something and shortly thereafter, it becomes nothing more than a memory.

I think a lot of people besides myself struggle with being consistent and Maxwell gives us a greater understanding as to why so many of us fail at being consistent.  His ideas suggest that when we really understand what it is that we are trying to accomplish, and why, that we have a much better chance to succeed.

1.  DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU NEED TO IMPROVE?

Being clear and concise on what it is that we need to improve will help us develop a plan on how to achieve the goal.  To want to get better at something or to get more of something are not clear objectives.  Know exactly what you need to improve so you can measure your success as you move through the process.

2.  DO YOU KNOW HOW YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO IMPROVE?

I think this is a big reason why we often fail at being disciplined is because we don’t spell out a plan for success to begin with.  We decide we need to improve something and don’t define the steps to success or evaluate a way to measure our progress.  If you can’t measure it, there is no accountability to do it at all.

3.  DO YOU KNOW WHY YOU WANT TO KEEP IMPROVING?

I think the why get’s back to the motivation part.  The why is the reason we start.  The more powerful your why, the more likely you are to succeed.  Going to the gym to have fun playing racquetball with your friends is a why.  Going to the gym the play racquetball with your friend, exercise and get your cardio in for the week is a more powerful why and will prompt better reason to be disciplined in your efforts.

4.  DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO IMPROVE?

The simple answer here is NOW.  It’s no different than anything else, we have a thousand reasons why it is just not the right time.  In reality, it may never be the right time, so recognize that if it’s worth doing it is worth doing now.

My take away from all this is that although discipline is what helps us grow, it is really creating a plan that allows us to clearly define our objectives and to be able to measure our progress.  Clarity is what will help us be disciplined.  Without a plan, discipline is nothing more than a description of what we should have done.  If you really want to grow, create a plan that will provide for a specific goal for each day.

Consistency is much easier when you have a clear understanding of what you need to be consistent in doing.

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Next Up:  Law #6  The Law of Environment.

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Barry Smith   www.buildingwhatmatters.com   11/7/12       photo by author