Last Sunday, I read "The Book of Five Rings" by Miyamoto Musashi. Those of us who know him or have come across his books know he went on an undefeated record of 62 sword duels spanning his life. People who watch UFC or other MMA tournaments understand how difficult it is for even the game's biggest legends to go on 15 undefeated duels, let alone 30 and then 60!
For those coming across this name for the first time, Miyamoto Musashi was a Japanese swordsman. He is considered a Kensei, a sword-saint of Japan. He developed a unique two-sword fighting style and emerged victorious in more than 60 sword fights in his travels throughout Japan. And the most distinctive of all, he was one of the few ronins (masterless Samurai). He was largely self-taught and received no formal training in swordsmanship.
He achieved this greatness only for one particular skill, which we tend to overlook. And this specific skill is Discipline.
Consistency is the cornerstone of Discipline. Let's see how the science behind consistency works and discuss specific principles by Musashi for Self-Discipline. Eventually, we will see how to develop consistency in this digital age of extreme distractions & short-term Dopamine cravings.
Why is it so hard to be consistent?
Cognitive dissonance: When our behaviors are inconsistent with our ingrained beliefs & thoughts, we feel psychological tension. We feel uneasy with ourselves when we're not consistent with good habits. But then we justify it with some excuses, which are usually absurd when you think about it.
For example,'Smoking cigarettes is unhealthy.' On hearing this statement, a smoker will go into cognitive dissonance at first - awareness that belief and action are inconsistent! (with the action being I smoke cigarettes). There can be two solutions to this dissonance. Either change the action (Quit smoking) or Change the belief (Tobacco research is not conclusive, continues to smoke cigarettes).
Changing the well-learned behaviors is often difficult, and smokers will employ a lot of mental maneuvers to avoid changing the behavior. Instead, what most will prefer is to change their beliefs - research has not proved definitely that smoking causes lung cancer.
The third and the most common way to reduce the dissonance will be to increase the attractiveness of their alternative - They could convince themselves that it is better to “live for today” than to “save for tomorrow.”
We believe something will benefit our future selves, but our actions contradict that. And then, we go into cognitive dissonance, leading to an unconfident and lazy approach to life.
It is important to note that we have to know that what we're doing right now will affect our future selves. We’re inheriting this life from the person who came before us, and we’re custodians of this life for the person who comes next. If you exist only for today, what kind of life do you want to set up for the person tomorrow?
Learn to be self-compassionate for your future self!
You're not living the life as one person. You don't know who you are! You don't know your true selves.
Dokkodo - The Way of Walking Alone
In his last days, Musashi wrote Dokkodo, the principle for living a life of discipline. Let's look at some of them that we can apply to our lives to build consistency.
Avoid Doing Things Just Because They Feel Good: In today's world, short-term pleasures are abundant. They bring with them a lack of meaning. But having meaning is what makes us happy. Instant pleasures have never been more easily accessible. Constantly indulging in pleasures doesn't lead to happiness; instead, it leads to a sense of emptiness and addiction in extreme cases. Indulging in pleasure steals time from us. Time well spent is when you do something that matters, and that feeling has no equal. Just think about the day when all your efforts to make a digital product finally pay off, and customers start coming in numbers. How would you feel? This feeling of achievement can never be compared to cheap instant dopamine hits.
Focus On One Thing: Practice and understand the realisation that by knowing one way, you know a thousand. We live in a world where opportunities are endless. It is great to have so many opportunities. But in reality, it leads to decision paralysis. People are disoriented in the face of the many opportunities they encounter, unable to filter them and focus on just one. Give yourself time to grasp what's in your hand. Do not feel contempt by knowing just the superficial aspect of a discipline.
Stay Focused: Stay focused on a path that gives you meaning even if it is unpopular among people. Prioritize paths that are useful to you, and you will taste life in a much deeper way. Prioritize things that yield greater pleasure in the long run, even if initially painful.
How to be consistent? TWO IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES TO BECOME CONSISTENT
Parkinson's Law is a simple rule that says: "Work expands to fill the time available for its completion." In simpler terms, it means that if you have a task to do and you give yourself a lot of time to do it, you might end up taking all that time to finish it even if it could have been done quicker. So, it's like saying that the time you allocate for something often determines how long it will take to complete. For example, if you give yourself a week to complete a task, you'll likely take the whole week to do it, even if it could have been done in a day.
Hence, we should set deadlines for every important task, goals- whether short-term or long-term that we want to achieve. Even if the deadlines are not met, it will provide you with the much needed urgency effect of wanting to accomplish the targets in the specific time frame. it will help with being consistent in your effort and keep striving in the meaningful path.
Accountability: Consistency is the key to achieving our goals and building lasting habits. Accountability, or being answerable to someone else for our actions, plays a crucial role in helping us stay on track and overcome challenges that can lead to inconsistency.
When we're only accountable to ourselves, it's easy to make excuses or give in to distractions. But having someone else to answer to adds a layer of responsibility that motivates us to stick to our commitments. This external pressure helps us resist the urge to slack off and stay focused on our goals.
Accountability provides a checks-and-balances system that keeps us honest and focused on our objectives. Knowing that someone is monitoring our progress encourages us to follow through on our plans and address any obstacles we encounter. By partnering with a friend, joining a group, hiring a coach, or participating in challenges, we can benefit from external oversight that supports our efforts and helps us maintain consistency.
By embracing external accountability, we can cultivate the discipline and focus needed to succeed in our endeavours and make meaningful progress toward our aspirations.
A short poem which I wrote on importance of developing consistency:
In the journey of life, with each passing day, Consistency paves the most steadfast way.
Like a river that flows with unwavering grace, Consistency's rhythm sets the perfect pace.
When motivation falters and doubts arise, Consistency proves its enduring guise.
Like a beacon in the darkest night, It leads us towards the brightest light.