I don’t think there is anyone that does not love the idea of success, irrespective of our individual definition of what success is or might be. Most people just admire the highlight reels, the big wins, the stories of people who seem to have “made it.” But what we rarely see is the grind, the quiet, often unglamorous act of simply showing up, day after day, even when the feelings are not there.

My dearest reader, the truth is this, motivation is fleeting or can be, it comes and goes. Some mornings you wake up ready to conquer the world; other times, you would rather hide under the covers. But you see, success does not come to those who wait for motivation; it comes to those who show up regardless of how they feel. And so one of the most underrated skills in life is not talent, intelligence, or even passion; it is the simple or rather not so simple  disciplined act to keep showing up, and this is precisely why motivation fails and consistency wins.

Why Motivation Fails and Consistency Wins

Motivation is like a spark; it burns bright for a moment and many times very very bright, but the thing is this; it fades away, maybe not quickly sometimes but it fades away. If you rely only on that spark, you will stall and wait the moment life gets heavy, tiring and boring.

But consistency, on the other hand, is the steady fire that keeps you moving even when the spark is gone. Athletes do not train only when they feel like it; writers do not write only when inspiration strikes, and most of the results we admire come from those who mastered the art of persistence, not those who waited for the perfect mood.

So know this, when you show up consistently, you build momentum. Even small steps forward eventually outpace the big leaps fueled by short bursts of excitement.

It’s highly unlikely to succeed if you’re not consistently making good decisions and taking the appropriate actions.

One thing that people who fail have in common is that they do not have consistent behaviour. That means that if you’re looking to succeed, you need to practice consistently, remain focused, and demonstrate more intention in the things you perform. Consistency will help you create awareness, establish trust, and provide your services with efficiency and profit; without it, your company will be more vulnerable to failure.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the term “consistency” means:

A: Agreement or harmony of particular features or elements to one another or as a complete

B: Ability to be claimed as a whole without contradiction

C: Harmony of conduct or practice in a profession

D: Degree of firmness and viscosity as well as resistance

E: Firmness of constitution or character: persistency

F: Condition of adhering to one another

G: Firmness of material substance

When you’re consistent, it’s a sign that you’re committed to the task at hand or accomplishing an assignment; this means that you know what you’re looking to accomplish and taking steps to achieve it.

Continue Reading: Why Consistency is An Important Habit

The Compounding Power of Daily Effort

Think of success as compound interest. Just as money grows when invested over time, your efforts multiply when repeated daily. Reading ten pages a day becomes dozens of books a year, and practicing a skill for thirty minutes daily transforms you from a beginner to a master, because the magic lies not in grand gestures but in quiet persistence. Each time you show up, you cast a vote for the person you want to become, and over time, those votes add up to a new identity.

That is why people who seem “lucky” or “naturally talented” often are not; they just kept showing up long after others quit.

A common approach to self-improvement involves setting a big goal and then trying to take huge leaps to achieve it in the shortest time possible. Although this sounds great in theory, it can often lead to burnout, frustration, or failure. Instead, we should be focusing on continuous improvement and slowly but surely changing our everyday habits and behaviors.

Continuous improvement refers to the commitment to make small changes and improvements each day with the expectation that these small improvements will lead to something more.

The Law of Incremental Improvement Practice states that “continuous improvement” is possible, you can achieve extraordinary results by improving your skills bit by bit each day in relation to your goals.

These tasks are repetitive and relatively simple, so they don’t seem to be susceptible to significant change.

It doesn’t always have to be about making big, dramatic changes. Sometimes it’s necessary to address large problems with big projects; however, this is not always true. Incremental improvement is a method of process improvement that focuses your efforts on small solutions that gradually but surely lead to success. The results will last for many years, even though they may not have an immediate impact. The accumulation of small improvements can often be as powerful or more powerful than trying to make huge leaps.

Continue Reading: The Compounding Effect: The Power of Small Incremental Improvements

How to Keep Showing Up When You Don’t Feel Like It

The hardest part of consistency is not knowing what to do; it is doing it when you least feel like it. So here is how to push through:

• Reduce the obstacle. If the gym feels overwhelming, think and just commit to just putting on your workout clothes, and walk around in your space, and once you start, momentum carries you forward and to the gym.
  
• Focus on the process, not the outcome. Show up to write one paragraph, not a masterpiece, because and overtime small wins build big confidence.
  
• Build accountability. Tell a friend, join a group, or track your streak, because external support makes it harder to quit.
  
• Detach from feelings. You do not have to feel motivated to act. Discipline is choosing what matters most over what you feel in the moment.
  

Read Also: Don’t Make the Fool’s Mistake: Always Waiting to Be Ready

Read Also: The Hidden Equation of Wealth: Contentment Over Accumulation

Read Also: Newton’s First Law for Personal Growth: Start Moving, Stay Moving

Conclusion

Showing up does not guarantee instant success, but not showing up guarantees failure, and life rewards those who do the work, not just those who dream about it.

Again one of the most underrated skills in life is simple, though not easy: Keep showing up! Even when it is boring, even when it is hard, even when you do not feel like it, because consistency builds character, character builds results, and results change everything.

In the end, success is not about having the most motivation; it is about showing up the most times.

I recently listened to an episode of a podcast on Daily Stoic: Why You Do This Work, in this episode, Ryan Holiday started by saying that there is an element of philosophy that is a lot of work. Just as I asked myself just few seconds in the episode, Ryan Holiday went further to ask the exact same question, why should one do this? He talked about an exchange in Chicago, the new book by David Mamet (a fan of Stoicism), that captures the reasons well; where the characters, having found themselves on the wrong side of a mob war, are arming themselves and discussing where to hide a pistol for protection; then one reminds the other that “the one phrase you never want to use” when trouble arises, is “Wait here ‘till I fetch it.” Ryan Holiday went further to say in that episode that Marcus Aurelius would say something similar; that philosophy was designed to make us a boxer and not a swordsman, because a boxer is built with his weapon in hand(s) whereas a fencer has to fetch theirs. 

And this was also one very striking part for me, your weapon ought to be built in your hands, the reason we practice this, ought to do this, the reason you need to build your weapon in your hands, day in and day out is to keep their lessons handy, not just in philosophy but every other area and in any field of our domain.

Continue Reading: Why You Should Consistently Do The Work: Be The Boxer