Show Notes:
Welcome to the 4th Episode of our series on consistency! In this episode, we dive deep into the art of maintaining consistent daily actions to achieve your long-term goals and positively influence your life trajectory. Here’s what you can expect:
Main Points:
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Understanding Setbacks:
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We all face challenges when trying to establish good habits. Life’s demands can disrupt our routines, leading to a downward spiral. This is especially true for habits related to exercise and diet.
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Identifying Triggers:
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Internal triggers like stress, fatigue, and negative emotions can cloud your judgment.
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External triggers include social pressures and unexpected changes. Being aware of these can help you prepare and sustain consistency.
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Strategies for Success:
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Self-Compassion: Acknowledge setbacks without harsh self-criticism. Recognize deviations and learn from them.
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Journaling: Track your progress to identify patterns and prepare for future challenges.
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Rehearsing Responses: Practice handling social situations and temptations to improve decision-making skills.
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Reflect and Prepare:
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Consider areas in your life where consistency is vital. Prepare for potential setbacks and manage triggers to stay aligned with your goals.
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Documenting Plans:
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Writing down your intentions solidifies commitment and enhances accountability. Record daily goals to stay on track.
Key Takeaways:
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Consistency is cultivated over time through intentional daily actions.
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Managing triggers and learning from setbacks are crucial for developing lasting habits.
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A proactive mindset is your ally in leading a fulfilling life.
Action Points:
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Reflect on your current routines and identify potential triggers.
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Start a journal to track your progress and setbacks.
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Practice responses to common challenges you face.
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Write down your daily goals and review them regularly.
Remember, consistency is a journey, not a destination. By taking these steps, you’re on your way to mastering the art of consistency. For more resources visit NickMaizy.com. Stay tuned for more discussions on this vital topic, and take care!
Episode Transcript
Well, hello, my friend, and welcome. Welcome to episode 13 of the Claim your day podcast. And also welcome to this series we’re doing on consistency. You know, it’s the things we do consistently over time that are going to guide us to where we want to be. They’re actually that consistency day in and day out, it’s actually going to create our lives. So we’re diving into this series.
This is the fourth episode in this series. If you missed any of the previous ones, make sure you just go back and check them out. Wherever you’re listening to this podcast, you should be able to access the past episodes. It’s just episode four of the series, so we’re not too far in. We still have a handful to go. But today, today we’re going to be diving into just the challenges and obstacles that are going to come your way.
You know, triggers and setbacks that are going to make it a little bit tough and what to do about it, you know, so that you can be consistent, so that you can make the most of your days and ultimately guide your life to go where you want it to go. You know, with that, I just want to, you know, it’s like starting with a question, you know, have you ever, you know, been there where you have been a little bit consistent?
Maybe you developed a good habit, Maybe you started a routine that you knew was good for you and then you got derailed. Well, let me go ahead and tell you, I’ve certainly been there, you know, a little bit. That. That’s life, you know, I don’t know if that’s special to being a parent. You know, I kind of say it’s dad life sometimes. I know it’s mom life, too.
With my wife, it’s just, you know, it’s just life, especially with the demands for our time and our attention and all the things going on, you know, when you start to get. Make a little bit of progress and have this good routine and this habit, you know, something’s going to happen and. And it kind of sucks a little bit. It’s not. It’s not fun. You know, it might be a morning routine that you’re just rocking and rolling in, and then all of a sudden you get a little bit off track one day, and then, you know, the next day it’s a little bit harder.
And before you know it, it’s been a week. Or if it’s. Maybe it’s your. You’ve been consistent with exercising and then the holidays come or school starts back, and it’s then also in Your off that routine. And then especially with the exercise, I would say exercise and diet, you know, some of the health things is once you get a little bit off track, it’s even harder. Like, if it’s exercise, well, then you’re just not feeling it.
You don’t have the energy or you’re a little bit concerned because, you know, when. When you’re exercising regularly, you know, your muscles are strong and they’re loose. You know, you’re less. Less chance of injury. But if you’ve been away from the gym for a little while or you haven’t run in a little while, then it’s like it’s even a harder mental and physical obstacle to get back into it.
And that’s tough. That’s tough. Especially with the diet. You know, the diet’s a weird one because if. If you’re eating a bunch of sugar and junk and processed food, you know that stuff’s addicting in and of its own. And so if you’ve gotten off track with your healthy diet, that’s a huge obstacle. Now, I just rattled off a few. Those are ones that I’ve definitely, definitely have experienced probably more times or certainly more times than I really care to mention.
But we all face, you know, obstacles and setbacks when it comes to trying to be consistent. You know, maybe yours are a little bit different, or maybe they are one of the ones that I mentioned. And while I’m just throwing out ones that I’ve struggled with, the sleep pattern, you know, and having a good, healthy sleep routine, that is something that’s really important. I know it’s really important, but as soon as I get off track a little bit, man, it is.
It is like a downward spiral, and then I’m tired, but then I don’t. So I don’t get good sleep sometimes. And. No, let’s just say that that’s an area where I’m working really hard to maintain my consistency with. So if any of that resonates with you, you’re not alone, my friend. You are not alone. But today I want to talk about not just some of those triggers or some of those obstacles, but also what we can do about them.
And so we’re talking about consistency. You know, different. Different triggers are going to hit different things that you’re trying to be consistent with. But some of the ones that are. Some of the ones that are consistent, that are across different areas, are those internal triggers. You know, it was stress, fatigue, and negative emotions. You know, they come in different areas. They come in different ways. But when we’re stressed out, it’s hard, it is so hard to think about those good things that we should be doing for our bodies and our goals and you’re staying true to our values.
When you’re stressed out and you’re tired, when you have some negative emotions and thoughts going on, shifting back to the importance of having those healthy, consistent routines is extremely difficult. Then you have some external, some outside stuff that can actually make it more difficult, too. There’s a bunch of social events going on, so you have some social pressure that you want to be able to fulfill. And even just being there for friends when they have a lot of demands and those, those social components, you know, that’s going to steer you away from prioritizing what you need for you, you know, unexpected changes.
Oh, golly, we all have those. When something pops up out of nowhere, that’s going to make it more difficult, you know, for you to say no and, and truly focus on, on your values, your priorities, what you have to have for you so that you can live your life how you need to. And then that’s not being selfish, that’s just being intentional, you know. Then also there’s these tempting, you know, tempting environments.
Also have to do some social stuff where everyone’s doing one thing and it seems really fun, it seems really good, but then your sleep is going to be shot, or it seems really fun, it seems really good, but it’s going to negatively impact your health and you know it. And then you’re going to get off track with your routine and it’s going to be a little bit of a downward spiral.
All these things, they can, they can happen, they can jump up out of nowhere, but when you have a plan, when you kind of can see them coming, then it’s going to help you to be better off so that you don’t have to succumb to that, you know, and just a quick little tidbit, a while back or in a different episode, we talked about, you know, writing down and journaling your progress, like tracking your progress with your consistency.
And if you’re doing that, then when these challenges and setbacks come up and triggers when that happens, you’re going to notice it, you’re going to track it because you’re going to be writing it down. And so that can be a good way, just a quick plug for a previous episode. That can be a quick way for you to, for you to stay on track with that and identify what’s coming up and kind of guard yourself against it.
In fact, that was just the last episode, episode 12, where we talked about, you know, tracking that progress. So, I just want to share some, some ways that you can kind of deal with some of these setbacks and challenges, you know, and a good way to kind of bounce back when they happen. You know, first of all, you know, I’m gonna say give yourself a little bit of grace, you know, because we all get off track.
No one’s perfect. We’re not machines and robots. And that’s some of the best things about life is that there are going to be challenges, but you can give yourself a little bit of grace because you can’t be perfect. So a lot of times when I get off track, one of the first things I gotta do is I just have to acknowledge that, hey, I got off track.
That’s it, you know, it’s. It’s just acknowledging that there’s a setback, there’s a challenge. Hey, that triggers, you know, knocked me off track and I succumbed to it. Okay, that’s fine. Acknowledging it, you know, and saying, hey, yeah, I did get off track without a bunch of criticism, you know, giving yourself, giving myself a little bit of grace, the faster I acknowledge that, it’s going to be easier for me to get back on track.
Now I say, you don’t just want to get back on track. You want to kind of identify that lesson that you learned. So that’s, hey, what can I do differently next time? Great. And then if it’s a big thing and you have to make a plan to get back on track, like maybe you got derailed for a couple months on your exercise plan, you know, and so you got really off track on that.
Maybe the holidays happened and let’s say from about November to January, like me, I got really off track on my exercise plan. I finished my last big spartan race in the middle of November. And then I just went real sideways from about the middle of November to the middle of January. And so I couldn’t just jump right back into training like I was. No, I had to make a plan. So if it’s something like that, then yeah, you’ve got to make your plan for smaller things.
Maybe if it’s like your morning routine that you’re trying to have, that, you know, is a good, healthy way for you to start your day, maybe it’s not making a plan to get back on track. Maybe you just say, hey, you know what? Tomorrow morning I’m starting again. Give yourself a little bit of self compassion, just a little bit of care, a little bit of grace. And then as soon as you do that one small step toward getting back on track, celebrate that, because that is a great thing that you’re doing.
You’re getting back on track with that consistent routine that you know is good for you. And definitely give yourself a little pat on the back and say, hey, I’m back at it right now. All right. Now you can. When you’re looking at it. If you’re doing some of that journaling, you’re tracking your progress, you can start to identify some of these triggers before they come up. Before they come up, and then that’s going to be huge.
They do a little bit of this training. Sometimes when people are trying to fight an addiction or to quit a substance and what it is, it’s planning out and practicing how someone’s going to respond when a trigger comes up. And this is perfect for this. If you know, hey, some events are going to come up and they’re going to try to. It’s going to derail me from my diet that I know I need to maintain for my health and my mental clarity and my energy.
Then go ahead and practice how you’re going to respond in those situations. It sounds silly, but even practicing in the mirror for how you’re going to respond when people ask you to do certain things or invite you to certain things, or if you’re at that event that you know some triggers are going to be at, you know, how are you going to stay on track with. With how you want to be and how you want to care for yourself?
You know, really practicing those things builds that resilience up. And it’s going to. It’s going to pay so many dividends in helping you to stay consistent in the areas that you know are important to. It doesn’t mean that you always have to say no to things. Like when you’ve said, if you’re talking about your healthy diet that you know you need to maintain, if that’s something that helps you to be your best version of you, then it doesn’t mean you have to say no to every event.
There’s going to be unhealthy food at. It might be practicing how you can maintain that resiliency by, say, practicing, hey, how you’re going to say no to certain things or what you’re going to do as an alternative. What. When you practice those, before you’re put in that situation, your brain’s already on track with it. It’s already got a little bit of that practice. It’s already built up that strength in making that decision that you know is going to be best for you, you know, and in the long term, this is going to help you to, to manage those triggers.
You’re not going to avoid every single one of them, but you’re going to be able to avoid some. You’re going to be able to manage some of those triggers, avoid some of those setbacks so that you can be consistent in the long run. That’s it. That’s what’s really most important. You know, I want you to just take a moment now and just think of some of the areas of your life that it’s really important for you, for you to be consistent in.
If it’s, you know, health, if it’s the family, you know, certain values, you know, if it’s your faith, you know, where are you trying to be consistent? And you’re struggling a little bit because some of these triggers and setbacks pop up. And then I want you to just take a moment and just think about what you could do and how you could prepare before that trigger pops up, before you experience that setback and get off track.
What can you do before to prepare so that when that situation happens, you’re going to be better prepared and you’re going to be able to stay on track, consistent for what you have that’s most important for you in your life. It’s great to be able to avoid triggers whenever possible, but there’s going to be social situations, there’s going to be things that come up where you’re not just going to be able to outright avoid it.
Now, don’t ask my wife because she’ll, she’d tell you that I go to the, the avoidance. Like, look, if something’s going to pop up, it’s not going to be the best. I’m just going to avoid that whole thing. Well, I’ll be honest, that’s not always the best choice. That’s just where my default is, just to be a little transparent. But what can be every bit as helpful is to just manage it, like, manage that trigger, like making sure that you’re practicing making those good choices when you’re in a situation where that trigger is going to come up where you could experience that setback.
Instead, you’ve already prepared. You’ve created this, like, alternative route, this decision that you can already make so that you can stay on track with your habits and be consistent. If you want to add a lot more power to any of this plan that you’re making so that you can maintain your consistency, simply write it down. Write it down. When you write things down, it takes more of your brain.
You process it, you think through it. You’re reading it as you write it. You can say it out loud. And in that way, when things come up that are going to derail you from your plan, you’re already prepared for it. And it’s even stronger preparation because you’ve written it down. This is something that I’ve got to do a lot in my life, whether it’s with, with my eating habits, whether it’s with my exercise and my health goals.
You know, I’ve mentioned a few times I do some of these spartan races and a part of that, like I’ve got to with it with. Between the demands of family, my work and church and how I’m trying to be active there, you know, I’ve got to really plan out these things. And there’s going to be stuff that pops up that distracts me, especially when it comes down to the stress and the fatigue and the other demands and all that stuff that I mentioned earlier, those triggers, they come and they come at you.
And for me, I’ve got it. Like I write stuff down every day, what I need to do, what I need, what choice I need to make, and certain things pop up and it helps me so much to keep me on track. But also when I get knocked off, I have that setback and I get off track. Having written those things down over time, I just jump right back into writing what I need to do the next morning and the next day.
And I’ve built that habit so much that writing it down actually kind of forces me to do it that next day without even thinking about it. So something for you to practice, you know, and really, I hope these are suggestions that work for me will help you because you being consistent in the areas of life that are most important to you over the long term, that’s what’s ultimately going to let you to guide you to that life that you want.
It’s built up over time and it’s built by claiming your day each and every day. Like you can, you can manage some of these triggers. You. You can, you can avoid some of them, you can manage the other ones. You can mitigate their impact. You can. When you get, you know, you get off track, you have a little bit of a setback, you can give yourself some grace, you can learn from that experience, you can get back on track, you can be consistent in the areas of life that are most important to you.
And that’s what I want for you. My friend. I hope this episode helps and you know, make sure you go back and listen to some of the previous ones. We have a few more to come on all about being consistent and as always you can go to nickmaizy.com I’m trying to add some more resources there right now. In fact, there’s a quiz called a life Drift quiz and it can have a few simple questions that are about how much you might be drifting in your life right now and not being intentional.
It can give you a little bit of a, you know, evaluation on that, you know, check it out. It’s a simple little quiz and then after you go through that quiz I’m going to share with you some specific things that you can do so that you can become more intentional and drift less. All right, here’s to you my friend. Take well, take care and I can’t wait to talk to you in the next episode.