A Recipe for Success: 3 Easy Ways to Achieve Personal and Professional Consistency

When I think of consistency, I think of smooth cake batter–the kind that my mother turned into delicious cakes when I was a child. Consistency means that each separate ingredient blends together to create a delicious end-result.

As an entrepreneur, we are constantly taking individual items, putting them together, and turning them into finished products or services–that’s our goal. But, what happens when things don’t come together, or more importantly, what can we do to ensure consistent consistency?

Let’s go back to my cake analogy; my mom would always ensure that she had all of the ingredients to make her cake first, which included eggs, butter, sugar, flour, milk, flavoring, and so on. Sometimes, if she was missing an ingredient, she would make a substitution based on what was available. However, once she had all her ingredients together, she would mix them together to create the batter. This blending together was perhaps the most important step because, as a seasoned baker, my mother could tell whether or not a cake was going to make for a successful dessert based on the batter’s consistency. The ultimate determinant of the quality of the cake’s taste usually depended on whatever ingredient she had to make a substitution for. 

The Oxford Dictionary defines consistency as “conformity in the application of something, typically that which is necessary for the sake of logic, accuracy, or fairness.” In other words, consistency means sticking to a series of behaviors and habits.

Think about your last product or service; did you have everything you needed to offer customers excellence, consistently across the board? If not, perhaps going forward, you should consider: 

• Determining the need for your product or service.
• Performing research.
• Creating and trying out a test sample, and measuring results against your competition.
• Pricing your products or services more competitively.

It’s also possible that the lack of consistency in your professional life has nothing to do with the ingredients that go into your product or service. Rather, this inconsistency could be an indirect result of the lack of ingredients for success within your personal life. Maybe your personal recipe for success requires you to eat a healthier diet and carve out time to exercise. Perhaps your effort to burn the candle at both ends is infringing upon your ability to get enough sleep at night.

Getting enough sleep at night has always been an issue for me, specifically.  As an author, my inspiration occurs in the wee hours of the morning. Yet, when I prepare for my work-life, which involves giving consultations based on observations of family dynamics, I end up working late into the evening. This makes getting up at the crack of dawn to write incredibly difficult.

We are NOT machines; we are human beings that need to make a living in order to survive. The things we are able to achieve when earning that living is directly related to how consistent we can be when handling our business. It is very difficult to be a boss entrepreneur or corporate woman when you are suffering from fatigue or exhaustion.

Here are three suggestions to help you successfully find consistency in both your professional and personal life:

1. Set Goals for Yourself 

One ingredient that goes into creating consistency comes from your ability to set goals, and follow through with them. 

Lately, one of my goals has been to get in bed by 10:30 p.m. For a time, I was going to bed at midnight and waking up at 6 a.m. However, remember how I mentioned that, between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., I typically have ideas for my creative writing? Thus, going to bed at midnight was stifling my writing creativity. By setting this goal, I now hove something to work toward. 

2. Form Healthy Habits

 It’s easy to form a habit. Just repeat the same behavior consistently for 21 days, or do something over-and-over for a total of 21 times, then–next thing you know–you’ll have formed a habit.

Think about forming some positive habits that could have a long-term impact on your overall well-being. You can join me by aiming to get more sleep, or you can start eating healthier, instead of grabbing that bag of chips or can of soda.

While you are forming some new habits, consider replacing the old ones you no longer need or want. For me, it was giving myself enough time to accomplish things. As a busy entrepreneur, mom, and wife, I always have something to do. If I have a morning appointment, getting on the computer is disastrous, because I lose track of time, Then, I have to rush to my meeting, instead of arriving with extra time to look over my notes.

Think about what habit you would like to eliminate, and substitute it with a healthy one. 

3. Practice Self-Care 

As women, we carry the weight of everyone else on our shoulders; we worry about our families, our friends, our neighbors, and our causes. However, we seldom take time for ourselves–unless we get sick, which seems to be the only thing that gives us permission to slow down and take care of ourselves.

You can practice a little self-care by taking time daily to do one or all of these things:

1. When you have time, pray or meditate. I recommend saying a prayer of thanks before going to bed.
2. Think about five things you are grateful for, and list them in your head or on paper.
3. Eat a high protein breakfast, or drink a protein smoothie.
4. Pick an affirmation, and say it to yourself.  You can say things like, “I approve of myself,” or, “I love myself exactly as I am.”
5. Give someone a compliment, just because.
   

While consistency may be the recipe for success, you are the engine propelling this success forward.

This article was written by The BOSS Network Influencer, C. Lynn Williams

Lynn Williams is an award-winning author, motivational speaker, educator, and business owner. Her passion is helping parents create the kind of home life that welcomes communication and trust with their tweens, teens and adult children. Believing working moms can have better work-life balance, she created Finding Superwoman, a mentoring program to help women kick the chaos out of their life. Her motto is, “Providing parenting solutions. Building solid foundations. Securing promising futures.”

Learn more about C. Lynn Williams by visiting her website at www.clynnwilliams.com.

Follow C. Lynn on Twitter @msparentguru.