Developing positive habits and applying them consistently is the ultimate key to success, yet most people find this very hard to achieve.
They struggle firstly because they have lots of bad habits that they consistently use, and then when they eventually find good habits that they should be using, they lack the "consistency application" resulting in giving them up.
A collection of small smart consistent choices will lead to massive results over time.
This is known as the "Compound Effect".
The small changes that need to be taken to improve your health, finances, relationships or anything else in your life, are so small that you will not even notice them, however the rewards can be huge.
Now the trick of the compound effect is "time".
Because the changes we need to make are so small, there is no immediate payoff effect, and this is why many people just give up.
People will quit after their first or second month of working out in a gym because they cannot see the results they want in that short period of time.
But give it 6 months or even better a year, and not only you, but the people around you will see the results.
After time it will feel unnatural for you not to go to the gym because something will be missing from your life, which means your results will only get better.
Let me show you the power of consistency combined with time.
If you were given the choice to take $2 million in cash right now, or receive a penny that doubles every day, for 30 days, which one would you choose? Is this a trick question? Yes of course it is!!! 2 mil sounds pretty good hey, but let's see what happens.
On day 10 your penny is worth the staggering amount of $5.
12 If you chose the penny it looks like you made another bad choice and wasted the chance of a lifetime.
But wait, things can only get better right? On day 20 your penny value has gone up to $5242.
Worried? You should be as you have only just 10 days left to get your $5242 anywhere close to the $2 million.
Day 15 and things are good but could be better; you now have $1,677,72.
16 I can see a smile on your face; you're a millionaire!!! But wait there's more; day 30 has arrived and you now have $5,368,709.
12 Over 5 million!!!! And that my friend is the power of consistency with time.
Another example which you have probably heard of is the rabbit and the tortoise.
Who wins the race in the end? The tortoise who is consistent and understands that the race is not a sprint it's a marathon.
Try sprinting and you might pull a hamstring and your out of the race for at least 2 months.
Try being the rabbit and because you think you are way ahead of the others, you will stop with every distraction that comes your way, and will stop for a breather every chance you get.
Your long term goals are just the same as in the story above.
If you have a clear target as what you want to achieve, with time, and constant small steps, you will achieve anything you put your mind to.
Even our eating habits need to work in the same way.
Today I went to see a diet analyst; not so much as I needed to lose weight (about 10%), but to have a more healthy food diet.
What she had explained to me is that the different variety of food I was consuming was normal, and my daily consumption was not excessive.
However my problem was the number of times a day I was eating was far too less than I should be eating.
Even though the quantity of food I was eating at those 2-3 times per day was my normal daily consumption, it should be spaced out more often.
So for my dietary problem, my eating habits needed to be adjusted to less food per meal, but eating more frequently (consistency).
That way I will lose about 1 kilo a week, but it will be on a regular basis, and I will not feel hungry.
In the near future I will let you know how my diet is progressing, but I am sure with time, dedication and consistency, my goal will be accomplished.