Unlocking Consistency: The 5 C’s Of Consistency
I believe the root of success and happiness is obtained through consistency.
My current motto has shifted towards “consistency over everything.” Over the last 6-months, faced with large life decisions, reminiscent of a midlife crisis, I began looking long and hard at my life and that of my peers who I felt had achieved the levels of “success” I strived for.
Consistency was the common trait I uncovered.
Podcasters with 800 episodes. YouTubers who had been creating for over 10 years. Thought leaders mastering their skills 10+ years. Expert meditators with 20,000 hours of practice. I noticed Twitter accounts that had posted 50,000 times compared to my 1,200 times.
Consistency was everywhere I looked.
As an entrepreneur with ADHD, struggling with consistency, I began to develop a theory of The Consistency Threshold which I first wrote about here. I have since built upon this theory while working on developing the skill consistency for myself.
Through my journey, I've uncovered 5 integral components of my consistency.
I’ve labeled these The 5 C’s of Consistency.
I’ve now consistently written long-form articles for 6 months. I have a 129-day streak studying Spanish, a 126-day meditation streak, and almost 3 months of daily writing.
As an avid lover of business, marketing, and philosophy, I am passionate about the drivers of our underlying behaviors. As well as redefining what we classify as “success.” Developing the skill of consistency I believe is a critical behavior of “success”, whatever it means to you.
Today, I will share The 5 C’s of Consistency that I’ve developed for myself in hopes it assists you in developing your consistency as well.
Here Are The 5 C’s Of Consistency:
The 1st C: Capacity.
Consistency has a capacity.
I’ve written about my theory on the Consistency Threshold here. We live in a dynamic and fast-paced world. We can only be consistent with so many things at once. Sooner or later if we keep adding things, something will break – either your “streak” or you.
This threshold is unique to you. It’s also unique to the time in your life and your circumstances. The important thing is to expand your awareness and identify your unique threshold.
Honing in on your capacity requires clarity.
The 2nd C: Clarity.
Consistency requires concentration and focus.
We cannot “do it all.” I’ve tried and it’s a lesson I continue to relearn. Since consistency has a capacity we require clarity on what to be consistent with.
Mr. Beast has been making YouTube videos for 10+ years. But he was focused on YouTube, not YouTube, podcasting, Instagram, email marketing, and writing on Substack. I experienced the same struggle on social media so I applied my focus on writing.
When I wanted to add yoga I knew I couldn’t “add” it to my routine so I reduced my strength training by 1 day and swapped in yoga – I’ve been consistent ever since.
Applying clarity requires confidence.
The 3rd C: Confidence.
Consistency requires confidence and belief.
You must believe that consistent action can bring the result you seek. And you must believe that you can be consistent. I believe through consistently writing I will improve, I believe by writing I can build my audience, and have a positive impact on people's lives. A lack of confidence will be a force against your consistency.
Elevating your level of confidence can be done through conviction.
The 4th C: Conviction.
Consistency is driven by conviction and passion.
We improve our ability to obtain consistency when we have conviction. In other words, it’s harder to consistently do things that we don’t like doing. I enjoy writing. I enjoy learning Spanish. This is somewhat of an amplifier. If we can apply a filter of passion and conviction to the C’s we can increase our likelihood of success.
The X-factor that ties the aforementioned 4 C’s together, is compounding.
The 5th C: Compounding.
Success through consistency compounds over time.
Insert cliche statement: All good things take time. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Consistency without time doesn’t yield the desired results. The monk didn’t obtain enlightenment after meditating for a month – it took 20,000+ hours. Mr. Beast didn’t make videos for 1 year, it’s been over 10. I won’t master writing in 6 months or be fluent in Spanish after 129 days.
This is where the C’s come together.
You’re more likely to stick with something you enjoy (The 4th C)
You’re more likely to stick with it if you believe it will work (The 3rd C)
You need to know what to prioritize over the longer term (The 2nd C)
You’re more likely to stick with it if you don’t burn out (The 1st C)
Our results compound with time.
Consistency wins out over tips, tricks, tactics, and hacks.
People are not inherently patient.
Consistency is not easy. It’s often oversimplified. While we know the importance of consistency, developing the underlying behaviors that drive it is a different story. This is why the marketing messages field by “the weird little secret the experts know that you don’t” flood our social media feeds and are so appealing. But they don’t work without applying the C’s.
This doesn’t mean that we don’t or cannot do other things.
It provides a lens of prioritization. My priority is writing. That doesn’t mean I can’t post a video but I will not prioritize the video, if I don’t post it I won’t be affected, everything else is a bonus.
Apply the C’s, and watch the results compound.
I hope this helps.
-Landon
PS: You may also enjoy:
The Consistency Threshold
https://landonpoburan.substack.com/p/the-consistency-threshold-pt-1