Consistency and persistence: The key to success at the workplace

By Goreti Kimani

Success-minded people are famous for their consistency in style and their manner of doing things. They approach matters in the same way irrespective of the magnitude of the challenge. Failures on the other hand are out to make short-term impressions, with little or no focus on the future

It follows therefore that consistency is a measure of inner strength. Many people are consistent until something goes wrong. Achievers understand that nothing great was created in one day. Big achievements are the manifestation of small things done repeatedly over time.

Consistency is also a measure of patience. Consistent people are like true farmers. They plant, wait for the rain and service the crop till harvest time. They don’t sit by and wait for things to happen. They are ready to invest themselves until they can see the much-desired result: the harvest.

They say that the courage to begin is the same courage required to succeed. Doing a good job once is good, but doing it over and over exhibits a seriousness to reach the desired goals.

And while the first step is usually the hardest, subsequent steps play a major role in accomplishing anything. Robert Schuler quips that winning starts by beginning. We may as well add that winning ends with finishing. In this context, finishing is not just an activity; it is a sum total of all the consistent activities over time.

Persistence means is not letting yourself give up. Persistent people are also described as hardened or stubborn. They understand that paths without obstacles don’t lead anywhere. When you get challenges in life, it is because you are doing something worthwhile.

Waiting to happen

Unfortunately this is not how many people see it. When faced with obstacles especially at work, many people view it as failure waiting to happen. And since people are afraid if failing, they give up before the ‘failure’ arrives. As the saying goes, if you are not failing, you are not growing.

Persistence means standing up to failure no matter how many times it knocks on your door. Some people give up after a few knocks, yet others are ready to knock for years till the door opens.

Always remember that failure is a lesson, and not a punishment. When you fail, you learn what does not work and get a chance to try a new approach. This is why persistent people eventually become successful.

Just like the fabled tea bag, you don’t know how much your strength you have until you get into a cup of hot water. For most people a new job is a cup of hot water, a time to get your strength tested.

Becoming a persistent person begins with the realisation that you need to change. Shedding your bad old habits should be your top agenda. Be ready to critically analyse the important decisions you have made in your life before, as you chart the way forward to your future

Goreti is a human resource specialist at Peoplelink.

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