Episode 220: Discipline + Consistency = MAGIC with Megan Porta

Discipline + Consistency = Success

One thing about me.. I am always creating these formulas in my head, which is funny because I’m not a math person and the word “formula” is so closely tied to math. Life is all about formulas, though, if you think about it. All of the good (and bad) habits you set into motion are based on formulas. Good morning routines are formulas. Bad eating habits are formulas. You get out of bed, exercise and meditate? You start your day with peace. You eat whatever you feel like eating? You feel like garbage and gain weight.

This is a deep question, but what is the formula for success? What would you say? Talking about anything you have achieved success with in your life, how did you get there? Was it by chance? Even if seems like it was, it probably wasn’t. There was likely a formula that you followed to get there.

This is what I have been thinking about recently.. Have I achieved success? From my own perspective (the only one that matters, by the way), YES. I have. Success for me means living a life of flexibility so I can work when I want and on what I want. It means I can walk my boys to school and walk them home in the afternoon. It means having the freedom to travel with my family. It means having quality people in my life who are positive and inspiring. It means having good habits, a good marriage, evenings in my yard with my family and jumping on the trampoline with my boys.

Do I want more? Yes. Of course I do. But I am also happy with where I’m at. Right now, this life of mine, is success to me.

Your life and your definition of success is different, of course, and that is good. You shouldn’t want my life and I shouldn’t want yours. 

I ask myself now.. How did I get here? How did I get to this place I love so much? It wasn’t by chance. I followed a formula and here’s what it is..

Having a deep understanding of what I want + discipline + consistency = Magic/success/loving the moment

Let’s talk through all parts of the formula. 

1 – Having a deep understanding of what you want. Without this piece, you will never know where you’re headed or where you want to go. You’ve gotta know where you want to go if you ever want to get there! I’m a huge believer in sitting down regularly to set goals. Long-term goals, so 3-year and 1-year goals are where I always start. I ask people this question occasionally and every once in a while the response will be something like, “Oh my goodness! I’ve never thought about it. I don’t know where I want to be in 3 years.”

Allow yourself to dream! Dream BIG! Tap into as much emotion as possible when doing this because that’s where the magic really is. Either sit quietly with your eyes closed or write in a journal till you can’t write anymore. Think 3 years into the future. Where are you? Who are you with? How are you spending your time? What is the essence of your situation? Is it peaceful? Simple? Light? Beachy? Filled with laughter? That’s where you want to go. Repeat this until you’re really clear. You need a very clear picture in your mind of what those future feelings and details are. And a strong positive emotional response needs to be tied to those things because that is what is going to propel you forward. The stronger your desires, the more quickly success (whatever that means to you) will come. If you try to skip over this part of the equation, you’ll never follow through with the next steps.

In the show notes I will link to an article on the EBT website about how to trigger positive emotion: https://eatblogtalk.com/trigger-positive-emotions/

2 – Discipline. You have a very clear understanding about what you want. Now you need to figure out what steps you need to take that will move you closer to that end goal. How do you figure this out? You work backward and you create guideposts for yourself. You set goals that you can take action on every month, every week, every day.. that will move you closer to attaining that future freedom. 

This is where you tap into DISCIPLINE. 

Discipline: “activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training:” 

If you look back through history, all of the success stories involve people who were highly disciplined. Every single one of them. Anyone who has accomplished great things had the quality of being disciplined. 

What does discipline look like? Taking action, resisting temptation and prioritizing and protecting the important things and following through.

3 – Consistency (or persistence). Knowing where you want to go is super important. Being disciplined is super important. But consistency brings everything together. If you are in touch with your future goals and you are disciplined some of the time, what will happen? You might eventually reach those goals, but who knows when it’ll happen? 

If you add consistency to the mix, you’re certain to get there via the fastest route.

I’ve talked about just this piece of it before on this podcast, and I love the concept of doing one small thing repeatedly in order to achieve really big results. It’s the coolest concept because it doesn’t require you to do a lot at once. A series of small steps repeated on a consistent basis can add up to monumental results!

I always think of that quote from Shawshank Redemption after everyone realizes that Andy had managed to create a tunnel to escape from prison using a rock hammer: “That’s all it really takes. Pressure and time.” Creating a tunnel long enough to escape from prison with a tiny rock hammer? That’s a monumental task. But when you chip away at it, little by little, every single day? Doable.

When you apply discipline and consistency to ANY task or goal or dream you want to achieve, it will get done. Nothing will help you to achieve your goals more quickly than when you take the steps you know you need to take and you do it consistently. No matter what.

A byproduct of being disciplined and consistent is that you create habits! After a while you move into autopilot mode and you’re doing the things that are helping to move you closer to your goals with much less effort. After even more time, you’re doing those things with EASE! 

To recap..

Step 1: Use emotion to get in touch with what you REALLY want and what your most cherished dreams are.

Step 2: Work backward from your dream to create clear next steps and commit to taking action.

Step 3: Show up and do those things you need to do CONSISTENTLY. Don’t stop. Keep moving, one little step at a time. Over and over and over and over.

Having a deep understanding of what I want + discipline + consistency = Magic/success/loving the moment

Which part of the equation do you struggle with the most? I’d love to hear your thoughts.