Consistency

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Consistency compounds.

Whether it’s positive or negative.

​James Clear illustrated this by comparing someone who improves 1% every day versus someone who’s 1% worse:

You may be wondering how you can get worse, so I’ll share an example.

Imagine you’ve graduated high school and you’re in the best shape of your life at 150 pounds and each year you gain 1% body weight, which doesn’t seem like a big deal.

You’ll cut back when you’re done university…have your career on track…the kids start school…you retire…

As each milestone ticks by, you come up with a future milestone before you’ll get things back under control.

In the meantime, when you’re ready to retire at 50, your weight has climbed to nearly 205 pounds:

You can use consistency and the power of compounding in your favor though.

Nothing will be able to stop you once you know what it can do.

The question many people ask is how they can show up consistently when they’ve never done it before. They want to know how you can get motivated.

That’s the thing, though, This isn’t about motivation. It’s about discipline. It’s about building your Get Sh!t Done Muscle.​

If you've gotten this far and it looks familiar, you're right. I first wrote this post in August 2023 when our newsletter was much smaller. Today and tomorrow, we're moving house, so I've shared one of my favorite past newsletters. Enjoy !

Build Your Get Sh!t Done Muscle

Your Get Sh!t Done muscle is built by doing hard things consistently.

However, hard things for you and me are different, and you need to start where you are.

For someone new to building their Get Sh!t Done Muscle, the starting point needs to be as small as possible, and your increases as you progress each month will be as small as they need to be to ensure your success.

To start, pick an activity you’re going to do every single day, at the same time, in the same place and in the same way. For example, you’ll wake up at 6:15 AM every day and write a checkmark in a book beside your bed.

Once you’ve finished the activity for 30 days, you’ll have taught yourself I am someone who can complete a challenge.

It’s important to keep these promises to yourself. To teach yourself you’re someone who can WIN.

When you’re done with your first 30-day challenge, you will step it up. Your next challenge will be slightly harder than the first – let’s use a practical example below.

Every day at 6:15 AM you’ll:

• Month 1 – Put your shoes on
• Month 2 – Walk around the block
• Month 3 – Walk 1 mile every day
• Month 4 – Walk 2 miles every day
• Month 5 – Walk 3 miles every day
• Month 6 – Walk 5 miles every day

Within six months you could have gone from being a couch potato who doesn’t believe they can complete challenges to a superstar who’s walking 5 miles every morning.

You’ll be healthier, fitter and more confident than ever, and nothing’s stopping you from ramping that up over the coming years.

The Power of Streaks

Streaks have been my answer.

Whether it was writing or running, I’ve used them for years.

In December 2016, I was an out-of-shape couch potato talking with a banker about running when a colleague pointed at my belly, laughed and said, "You’re not a runner."

Within the next week, I started a running streak.

Over the next 1-1/2 years, I ran an average of 4-1/2 miles daily, every day, lost 40 pounds and completed a 50-mile ultramarathon.

Streaks are the easiest way to prove to yourself you are something.

• Runners RUN
• Writers WRITE
• Creators CREATE

Someone told me I wasn’t a runner.

I showed them I’m whatever I want to be.

The key to streaks is you make a promise to yourself and you KEEP it.

There’s no greater way to prove to yourself that you’re capable of being whoever you want to be, and it’s the greatest way to build your Get Sh!t Done Muscle.

Streaks can, but may not always be, a superpower for someone with ADHD like me.

For some, it’s easy to do something a few days per week. I refer to these people as having dimmer switches.

For others, like me, I refer to myself as ON or OFF. If I’m doing a Streak, I can do it every day for years. I’m also able not to do it for years.

Know thyself.

With consistency, here’s some things you need to know:

Exponential versus Incremental

The average person thinks about life linearly and incrementally. If you add 500 followers in January, you’ll add 500 in February.

When we sat around the table at New Year’s 2021, my wife, two sons, and I predicted where my Twitter following would be one year later. They each ranged from 25,000 to 40,000, thinking growth would continue incrementally.

I thought I was aggressive with a target of 50,000 and a 75,000 stretch goal.

We finished the year with 207,000 followers.

We had ALL thought incrementally.

When you’re consistent for long enough periods, the compounding leads to exponential growth. You just have to keep going long enough to get there.

It will go slow until it goes fast.

Do it long enough for it to go fast.

Embrace the Suck

When I started as an accountant, I sucked, AND 15 years later, I was a CFO.

When I started triathlon training, I sucked, AND two years later, I completed an Ironman.

When I started writing on Twitter, I sucked, AND 15 months later, I’m doing alright on the platform.

You need to be willing to suck long enough to get good:

• You will suck
• You won’t be bad
• You’ll be good at it
• You’ll be phenomenal

The 2-Minute Rule

There will be days you don’t want to keep the Streak going.

It’s alright, we’ve all been there, so I recommend the streak be maintainable.

For example, I ran almost 5 miles per day for 1 1/2 years, but the minimum I had to run was 1.5 miles.

In fact, my wife came up with some cheat codes, such as going for a 1.5-mile run at 11:30 PM, taking a rest, and then running home at 12:05 AM, which would allow me to have a rest day.

Whatever you’re doing, set a minimum you can stick to.

Also, use the 2-minute rule to help you achieve that minimum:

Run two minutes

Read for two minutes

Creative writing for two minutes

We chose two minutes because research shows that once you commit to two minutes, you’ll put more time in.

The two minutes is how we can get you started.

It’s how we can get your running shoes on and you out the door.

Whatever you want to do regularly, do it in small increments and let the time expand.

Do it Daily-ish

The last one I will leave you with is the idea of doing it daily-ish.

This means that you may not do it every day, but you’ll be doing it regularly.

I recognize that not everyone will have the same ON or OFF mentality about streaks as I do. They’re not always reasonable or approachable for everyone, and that’s okay.

With daily-ish, ensure you never miss two days in a row.

If you miss on Monday, you’ll do it on Tuesday.

This is also commonly called the two-day rule.

TGG Podcast

This week on the Growth Guide Podcast, we dive the concept of "Burning the Boats" vs the Spider Man approach when it comes to pursuing your entrepreneurial dreams while maintaining financial stability.

You hear it all the time on social media.

Go all in
Quit your job
Burn the Boats

The truth is, that's madness.

I'd like to suggest an alternative, though.

Instead of Burning the Boats, use what I call, the Spiderman Approach:

To hear more, listen to the Growth Guide Podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also watch on YouTube:

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Last Word 👋

I love hearing from readers and I'm always looking for your feedback.

How I'm doing with the Growth Guide. Is there anything you want to see more of or less? Which aspects of the Newsletter or Podcast do you like the most?

Hit reply, say hello, and let me know what you think of Stay Consistent to Succeed.

I'd love to chat with you !

All my best,

Clint