Bruce Lee once said, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” Like most of the late actor’s philosophical musings, it’s hard to distinguish paraphrases from exact quotes. But the sentiment still stands, consistency and practice breed excellence. In many ways, consistency is a legitimate superpower we can tap into over time. Let’s look at ways we can leverage consistency to transform our lives radically.
Practice is Consistency in Action
When you pick up a new skill or hobby, the brain begins forming a series of communications between neurons. In the beginning, your brain lights up like a Christmas tree. The neurons fire in rapid succession as your mind desperately tries to find where and how this new skill fits in with the others you’ve accumulated throughout your lifespan. Over time, however, your brain becomes more efficient at carrying out the task. Skills or movements practiced a thousand times over become second nature.
In short, practice tends to make ‘permanent’ before ‘perfect,’ making it a double-edged sword. If you practice an instrument, dance sequence, arm lock, or free throw the wrong way, you will cement those bad habits into your muscle memory. Practice the right way, and you can become proficient in nearly anything you put hours into perfecting.
Isn’t that amazing? Think of it‒‒The only thing stopping you from being a pro at just about anything is the time and willingness to put in the reps. Of course, genetics and natural talent might be limiting factors, but most of us aren’t trying to become the next Lebron James or Kamaru Usman. If you’re serious about learning an instrument, picking up a hobby, improving at a sport, or even video games, you’ve got to put the reps in and let neuroplasticity do the rest.
Consistency Breeds Confidence
Jay Conrad Levinson, the godfather of guerilla marketing, believed that “consistency breeds familiarity and familiarity breeds confidence.” Think back to your freshman day of high school and how nervous you felt. You are in an entirely new environment with new people and a new set of responsibilities and expectations. It’s no wonder you felt petrified. Eventually, however, you settled into a groove, and waking up for high school felt like any other day.
Like my high school example, becoming confident in novel experiences or environments requires consistency. It’s not just about repeat exposure. It’s about developing skills to tackle challenges that arise, which takes (you guessed it) consistency. Seasoned MMA fighters don’t wake up one day and gain the confidence necessary to get in the octagon and fight full contact, they build that confidence through years of repetition and preparation. I find it helpful to think of confidence as a byproduct of consistency. One that will bolster your ability to push through obstacles and reach the goals you’ve set out to achieve.
When Motivation Fails, Consistency Prevails
There are days when motivation fails to show up to the office. Like any emotion, motivation is fickle. We’ve all felt it before. Those mornings when just getting out of bed and brushing your teeth takes a Herculean effort. When dips in motivation eventually arise, habits (good and bad) take over.
Famous olympian track medalist Jim Ryun summed it up perfectly: “Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you going.” Think of an activity you do daily, like brushing your teeth. You can do it in the shower, on the toilet, mid-email, etc. You don’t have to expend much energy or mental bandwidth to do it, so your teeth get brushed regardless of your drive level. By breaking down more complex tasks into smaller components and making those components a stable part of your daily routine, motivation becomes an accessory rather than a necessity.
Overall, habits are a direct result of consistent repetition. Turning your passion projects, goals, assignments, etc., into systems of actionable habits will allow you to stay on task during a rut. Doing so might be challenging at first, but with enough time and (that’s right) consistency, hitting your targets becomes second nature.
Final Thoughts
Life isn’t always easy, but the human mind makes up for it with its superhuman ability to adapt and learn over time. Consistency and practice are powerful combinations that facilitate these abilities, but one more component is equally important: patience.
Everyone knows the old adage, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” but very few of us manage to internalize this belief. We’re living in the ‘same-day deliveries’ and instant gratification age, so our patience is beginning to atrophy. Nevertheless, consistency and patience go hand-in-hand, so practicing a little stoicism will ensure you don’t get discouraged when results take time to manifest.