Consistency Archives - The Art of Improvement

How to Consistently Enter Flow States

The Flow State. Maybe you’ve heard of it. Some call it “being in the zone.” It’s that sweet spot where the outside world seems to melt away. Writers and Inventors have been known to find it. Artists and Athletes frequently experience it.

It’s been recognized for at least 30 years, but no doubt many people throughout history have made their way to this mysterious, yet accessible, state of mind. In 1990 psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi introduced the concept of flow and described it as being in a “peak experience”. He said, “the best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits, in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”

How to Keep Going (Even When You Don’t See Any Results)

Have you ever had a goal that no matter how hard you worked or how many hours you dedicated or how many affirmations you chanted, just didn’t seem to make any progress? Despite all your best effort, it felt like you were running on a treadmill — working hard but not going anywhere.

When I decided to take my career to the next level and become a freelancer, I encountered this problem. Even though I was putting in countless hours every week, I just wasn’t getting any clients. At the time, I didn’t even know the first thing about business or marketing or how to sell my services. The only thing I actually knew how to do was the service I was trying to get clients for.

How to Build Self-Discipline

The other day, I struggled with self-discipline.

I warred with myself, negotiated, revisited arguments, made imaginary pro and con lists, and eventually realized that no, I could not get out of my daily workout.

This happens pretty much every day, actually.

5 o’clock rolls around — my designated time for exercise — and I start to wonder: do I really need to do my workout today? What if I only did half my workout? What if I went for a walk around the block instead? What if I did some light stretching instead? What if I just stayed on the couch eating potato chips instead?

The Power of Staying Committed to Your Goals

The power of staying committed to your goals is that you actually accomplish them.

Commitment is the key to seeing your dreams, hopes, and, yes, goals, come to fruition. Because goals are inherently difficult to achieve. They take a lot of effort and time. The tricky part is, of course, applying the same amount of effort over a long period of time. Once you are able to really commit in this way, you’ll see massive results.

But staying committed to a goal is tough. How many New Year’s Resolutions have been abandoned mid-February when we lose our motivation? How many half-completed workout programs are there? How many goals have we had that we now don’t even remember anymore because we abandoned them?

How to Master Consistency to Achieve Your Goals

When my brother became a math teacher, he told me that there were three types of students in his class.

The first kind of student did less than 40% of the homework, crammed for the big test the week before, and ended up failing the test.

The second kind of student did about 60-80% of the homework, studied a bit for the big test, and ended up skating by with an average grade.

The third kind of student did 100% of the homework, didn’t study very much for the big test — and no matter what their ability or talent level — usually passed the test with a high B or better.