Why Flexibility Is the Real Secret to Staying Consistent

You’ve probably heard it over and over: consistency is key. “If you want results, you have to be consistent”. But what does that really mean?

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In my experience, a lot of people hear that and think it means they have to be perfect. That you must hit your macros perfectly every day, you can never miss a workout, you always have to do the full workout, you have to nail your habits every day, and so on. This is what we call all or nothing thinking. It’s black and white, it’s pass or fail, you either feel good about yourself because you were “successful” or you feel bad about yourself because you “wasted” another day. While it sounds good on paper to have all of that figured out and never have challenges, that’s not feasible. Work gets stressful, kids get sick, travel happens, you get sick, alarms don’t go off… Life happens!

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So what can you do? How do you stay consistent? Flexibility.

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Flexibility is the new key. The people who are truly the most successful in long term change aren’t just consistent, they have something called cognitive flexibility. Cognitive flexibility is defined as the “ability to effectively adapt one’s cognitive and behavioral strategies in response to changing tasks or environmental demands.” Basically, you can change what action you take or how you think about something when something new comes up. Sounds pretty useful for all those life events that are bound to happen…

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Next time you think to yourself, “I just need to be more consistent” change that to “how can I be more flexible?”

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We all have an ideal plan or routine for our day (and if you don't, maybe that’s a good place to start: what does an ideal day look like for you?) but what happens when a hurdle comes up? Being able to zoom out, take a step back, assess the day or week in front of you, and make a choice that aligns with your values and the person you want to be allows you to keep moving forward.

• Rather than “I have to workout at 5am” how about “when am I completing my workout today?”
• Rather than “I have to get 30g of protein at every meal” how about “how can I get 20-40g of protein per meal and 120g overall in the day?”
• Rather than “I have to exercise for 60 minutes today”, how about “how long of a workout can I accommodate in my schedule today?”

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People who are consistent also think like a consistent person. This means they don’t shame, judge, or put themselves down because they missed a day or didn’t execute their habits perfectly that day. If you are a consistent person who continually shows up for themselves, you know that one day in the grand scheme of things isn’t a huge deal. A consistent person doesn’t ruminate on what they didn’t do and why they “failed,” instead they prepare for the next day, or next meal, or next hour, and make intentional choices to keep them moving forward.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Consistency is important, and the ability to be flexible with your behavior and thinking is the key to being consistent.
• Small efforts add up. Small efforts count. Small efforts are worth it. Sometimes it’s the small effort that proves to yourself that you can show up even when it’s not “perfect.”
• Find habits/routines/goals that are right for YOU. Just because someone you admire on social media does something, doesn’t mean it will work for your life or that you have to do it, too. Forcing habits because you think you “should” do it rarely works long term.

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So, how can you be more flexible in order to be more consistent?

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