THE POWER OF CONSISTENCY - PAUL SHADRACH

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THE POWER OF CONSISTENCY

How would you define consistency?

I will start by sharing a personal story.

During my undergraduate days at the university, precisely my 300 level, I became fed up with life and was almost giving up on my dream of becoming a graduate of Political Science. The only thought running through my mind then was "QUIT."

This was largely because of the sudden fall in my most cherished CGPA. The decline was something I never imagined. All efforts to get my lecturers to look into the matter proved abortive. I was almost sliding into depression, but thank God for the gift of men. Ademola Adebayo, one of my favorite friends, came to visit my room in the hostel. And while I was still deep in thought, he extended one of Denzel Washington's motivational clips to me. As I began to watch the video clip, it ministered to my situation. One of the most striking parts of the clip was when he said, "If you ever think about giving up, then remember why you ever started".

And that was the eureka moment for me, as you can already guess what happened to me. I jerked back to life, and the zeal with which I attended to my studies is still surprisingly my best, as I had one of my best performances in that semester until I graduated.

Talking about consistency: for me, consistency is the quality of sustaining your drive, your motivation, and your zest for whatever you are about and doing. Consistency shows up every day, irrespective of the highs and lows.

I will narrow it down to consistency of purpose and of character, as it is arguably one of the things lacking in our day and time, without which we can't make a reasonable impact in life. Please enjoy the cruise as I take you on a ride.

Purpose, defined, is the "why" of every man (male and female) and everything. What distinguishes you from the other person is your "importunity".

What are you demanding from life? As you already know, life does not give you what you deserve, but what you demand. How far are you willing to go to actualize your purpose? 

Permit me to ask further: have you discovered the why of your life? Our world today is bedeviled with people of inconsistent character. Our society and its agents of socialization are weak in instilling the profitability of having consistent moral values. You may be excellent at whatever your niche is, but without a consistent character, people may not deal with you for an extended period of time.

Below are some of my thoughts on building consistently:

~In consistency lies power: situations of life will come at you to test the sort of thing your drive is made of. This will check to see if you will give up on your drive, but optimism will help you break even.

~You gain mastery through consistency: no one has ever been a master at anything without being consistent. Specialization is born out of consistency. Why wouldn't you show up daily?

~Everyone is consistent: this may sound awkward, but believe me when I say everyone is consistent; just that, some people are 'consistently inconsistent', which is why they are hardly masters of anything.

~Consistency is a habit and a lifestyle. Consistency is one of the smallest habits of men, but it is the prerequisite for success. The same Denzel Washington said, "Without commitment, you'll never start. But more importantly, without consistency, you'll never finish". Consistency is a habit because you have to build it layer by layer, from small to big. To succeed in your endeavor, you must also make consistency an uncompromising culture and lifestyle—a value that you cannot dispute.

As I seek to conclude, what may be standing as an embargo between you and what you are aiming for may not be the lack of skills, but the lack of consistency of focus. I may not be on the same level as Denzel Washington and many others whose lives may have encouraged you to become more, but I challenge you to try some more, show up some more, be consistent, and watch what happens to you. I am looking forward to hearing your feedback on this topic. 

Bye, as I leave you for now to show up for my purpose.

Paul Shadrach Awugo

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 20, 2023 at 6:53 PM

    As always. Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Olabode AfurewajuMay 20, 2023 at 9:28 PM

    Simply Incredible thought and job well-done !

    ReplyDelete

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