The Critical Character Trait Needed to Become the Person You Want to Be
There is a saying that you’re either growing or you’re dying. While I’m sure there are some who could argue the science of this statement, you would be a fool to argue the wisdom in it. Unquestionably, nothing stays the same.
Therefore, if you don’t have goals to grow you are conceding that your goal is to wither away. So at this point I’m going to assume withering away is not your goal. Instead, I’m going to assume your goal is to be a better person next year than this year. As a result, this means there is a gap between the person you are now and the person you want to be.
With this in mind, there are a number of character traits you will need to get from here to there. However, there is one trait above all others that you can’t cut corners on embodying.
Everything Meaningful You Want is At the End of a Marathon
You can’t sprint from the person you are now to the person you want to be. You can try to sprint, but you will quickly burn out. In order to get from here to where you want to be will require that you run a bonafide marathon. What’s more, the only way to finish a marathon is with consistency.
Consistency is that critical character trait we all need to achieve anything meaningful. Everytime you start something then stop, you reset the clock and push back the finish line. This cycle of starting and stopping is a dream killer that you can only defeat with consistency.
For example, if you need to wake up everyday at 4:00am to achieve your goals, you can’t do it for a week or month then stop. It has to become like brushing your teeth. You have to commit to doing it for the rest of your life. So if 4:00 am is not sustainable then don’t even waste your time doing it for one day. Change the time to something you can be consistent with, even if it’s just 10 minutes earlier than normal. Then after several weeks, adjust to 20 minutes earlier, then after a few more weeks 30 minutes, and so on and so forth.
While the above is just an example, it’s a tried and true method for training to finish a marathon. Start small, remain consistent, and slowly increase the challenge as you remain committed to consistency.