Perfection to be chased but Consistency to be acheived

So often, I make the mistake of believing that sticking to good habits is an “all-or-nothing” game. This belief of mine is incorrect. Habits are behaviours that we repeat consistently. However, they are not behaviours we repeat perfectly. This small idea — consistency does not require perfection — is important.

When it comes to building good habits and breaking bad habits, individual mistakes do not matter in the long run. Instead, it is the

second mistake that is far more important. For example, missing any single day of a particular habit has no impact on your long-term ability to stick to the habit. It doesn't matter when it occurs, as making a mistake and slipping up does not alter the long-term outcome, so long as if you find a way to get back on track.

I have observed that what separates the elite performers from me is not

perfection but CONSISTENCY. This is why the most important thing is not to prevent mistakes completely, but to avoid making a mistake twice in a row. Errors are part of the process, but they shouldn't become part of the pattern.

One mistake is just an outlier. Two mistakes are the beginning of a pattern. Killing this pattern before it snowballs into something bigger is one reason why learning how to get back on track quickly is an essential skill for building good habits.

How to Get Back on Track

Here are some of the strategies I have started adopting for getting back on track quickly and avoiding repeated mistakes.

Dedicate all of your energy to starting the good behaviour.  I find it more useful to release the focus on results and direct my energy toward getting started. I have stopped worrying about having a fantastic performance. I have started to focus just on getting back into the swing of things.

I like to use the two-minute rule to help me start behaviours easily. As I really find it true that all your goals can not be accomplished in two minutes but every such goal can be started in two minutes. All sorts of good things happen once you get started.

Set a schedule for your habits. Many people never get around to building new habits because they always wonder when they will be motivated to do the new habit. I also had the same mind set earlier. But now I have learned that taking the motivation out of the equation and setting a schedule for your new behaviour is all that it matters. And you will find that in no time the new behaviour will become a part of your old routine.

Eliminate the things that take you off track. Some emergencies can’t be avoided, but there are many daily distractions you can eliminate, and that is exactly what I have started practicing. Whenever I find myself missing any habit, I take a moment to determine why it happened.

I have stopped judging myself; rather I just examine my day with open eyes and determine what took me off course. And believe me, once you begin to discover the things that took you off course, you can eliminate them whenever possible.

Improve by subtracting. It is much easier to make the right decision if you are surrounded by better choices.