Are You Even Trying?

in #life7 years ago

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These days we've all given up. It's strange really. We have all these tools and resources at our fingertips, and yet we seem to do so much less than we could.
It seems as though many of us are not where we want to be, Simply because we arent' trying enough. And oddly the opportunities are there.
A while back before the internet. Not having the opportunity to do the things we want was a problem. And now It's the lack of drive and consistency.

Consistency Is hard

It's too easy to get distracted these days; We've got phones with a million notifications each day, Each notification seeming like some dire emergency.
We've got a million other things we could be doing. We are busier with more and more things that are keeping us away from our goals.

You need to be okay with your efforts failing for a while

We not only have lots of distractions but we also have so little patience. And we are usually so close to our goals but often fail because we give up too soon. Usually, you will fail again and again before you finally can keep your head above water and start succeeding. It's all a process.
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Consistency Beats Talent

I went to school with a girl who could draw better than me. But after high school, she pursued other things besides art. Art kept being one of my number one priorities. And I practice every day. As a result, I was able to turn my art into my full-time career while she works a regular job.
Just because there are people out there, That can do things better than you can. Doesn't mean you should give up. Not only will consistency help you improve your skills and abilities but it will also give you leverage on the people who aren't as consistent when it comes to competition.

Talent only helps a little bit.

Anyone Can Make An Effort

A lot of people try. We have to give them credit. It's not uncommon. But people often give up without long term consistency.
I see a lot of people giving up on doing Merch By Amazon. Because they aren't getting the sales. After almost a year of hard work, I'm about to be in the 2,000 tier. People don't realize that it's not an overnight "Get rich, Quick" thing. It's something that takes continuous effort.

Consistency can beat Quality

What?
Sometimes you see people produce quality work. But they aren't consistent about it.
Sure their work might be better quality. But someone consistently producing good work often will get ahead in the end. Consistency is incredibly powerful.

We need to focus more effort in one direction

Another problem is people get bored of doing the same thing, and want to mix it up. But that's right before the success happens.
I'm feeling this with my shirt store. I'm tired, And somewhat bored of it. But if I start a new business elsewhere I would have to start from scratch again, When I'm finally pulling in money from my shirts.
While it's important to diversify, It's also important to put enough effort into a few things.
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Anything that is shown consistent attention will have progress!

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Very beautiful post @kaylinart and I can say that I am ok that my efforts fall from once in a while.

Thank you :)

Your post remind me a book 'Slight Edge' by Jeff Olsen that I have recently read. The book discusses how work with consistency can beat giants (quality and talent). Following a simple daily routine without break can bring you closer to success.

I am aspirant artist who is applying these strategies to get to my destination. Your post has been an inspiration to me. Resteemed and followed for such useful infos.

This is exactly what Steemit needs more of. Folks that keep moving forward one step at a time. Just keep going.

thank you for this post as it was just what I needed tonight. Tonight is one of those nights where I have ''falling out'' with steemit, at least until tomorrow :) -
I guess the unpredictable'ness of it all is kind of addictive :/
This post speaks the truth.. consistency is key. It's a tough one though :O

I know what you mean! I feel like that sometimes too! But don't let yourself get discouraged!
So true!

@kaylinart, you mentioned in a previous article about writing lists. I think that writing down our goals and our task are important.

I recently heard that what is measured is managed.

It is so hard to try if
a) we don't know where we are trying to go
b) we don't know when we have arrived

Exactly! I know a lot of people struggle with those.

I totally agree on consistency being the hardest obstacle to overcome when it comes to achieving what we define as success. In fact, our education only prepares us to accomplish short term goals such as taking tests and exams that we pretty much don't think about once we complete formal schooling.

I feel we need to have a deeper more innate desire to do the things we want if we aim to achieve consistency. It goes beyond fame and fortune. The real driver is answering why, what, when, where, and how to turn that goal into a reality.

Definitely consistency is the key.
But first you need A LOT OF PATIENCE.
No shortcuts, you gotta werk, werk, werk. :)

So true! You have to work really hard for what you want. You don't just get it.

Indeed! Takes a lot of hardwork. And a bit of luck too.^u^

Kindly check my 1st haiku, everyone can relate to this. ;)
https://steemit.com/poetry/@yukimaru/haiku-1-steemit

Great insight! I know for me, I could so much more if I wouldn't get distracted so much

So true! I have the same issue! We just have to figure out what we can do to avoid distractions.

I posted something similar about focusing on the term. The short term challenges will always be there. If you keep hoping from one thing to the next you wouldn't be able to build your network and skill in the space enough to be successful. Thanks for sharing this.

No problem!

There seems to be a theme here K...this instant gratification it seems is rampant.

Hahha Exactly!

Hard work is always the way to do things. Most people use the word talent just to justify their own laziness not even realizing how much work and effort people throw in order to be successful. Being concistent

Great post. . Keep it up.

Totally Agreed @kaylinart such a Amazing post .Same with me I am little bored with my stuff and started some poetry take a look hope you like .it It's so Refreshing to read Your Post Voted wish you the same :)😊

You just gave me the inspiration i need. Thanks for sharing

Thank you for the good post.

Nice post @kaylinart, and I agree that for many people the boredom and exhaustion conveniently sets in well ahead of reaping the rewards.

Perseverance is a virtue!!! Do you know any stores that sell it? 😉

I'm glad these days we are giving a lot of value to discipline, I think we need it to all we want to do, this was a great post, greetings from Venezuela.

beautiful post

I wake up every single day thanking God for just being alive, as long as I have breath in body I promised myself that will give my best effort. We need to be constant and Happy with what we do!, Great Note. Cheers!

thank you @kaylinart for sharing this great post. it's veri motivated me.

The proof is that I didn't have the patience to read all of your post. I always feeling like I lack time and/or that I can't start anyproject before my next workshift.

Now I,m on vacantion and it's not easier to resist my distractions...

Thanks for speaking the truth. Well said. "Consistency" isn't a sexy word, like "talent" is. We all want to be the "talented" guy, who wants to be the "consistent" guy? But in the end...do you want to be the "successful" guy bad enough to learn consistency? And hard work? And commitment? A friend of mine used to say, "the most radical thing you can be is consistent." (I dont know if he was quoting someone else or not, but I took it as a great life lesson, whoever said it). Upvoted & resteemed!

I have to disagree with your some of your viewpoints. I endlessly try till my eyes can no longer see and my vision goes blurry forcing me to give in for that day. I spend months waiting on other people who still don’t do what they needed. I endless see people just toss out like bath water great opportunity because it dint allows them to change the world forever. I invest way too much time in things that never amount to much. I’m not talking about a short week or a month I’m talking years of my life gone and nothing to show for it. Sometimes you just got to know when to toss in the towel and look for another path to go down.

That’s the thing about talent. Its is easy to brush off when you have it, and you see others who have more than you. Sure practice can make perfect but not for everyone. I lacked the talent to get where I needed to go. There are just not enough hours in a day to make up for it.

Love this and 100% agree! Consistency beats talent, and discipline beats motivation. My other half was told at school that he was tone deaf and couldn't sing. (Who says that to a kid??) He is now a singer-song writer and musician and has the most beautiful voice. Not from talent, but from dogged determination and practice. :) Followed!

Great! Consistence and effort is bringing you great progress! We all should follow your steps. I am following you. Upvoted and resteemited. Thank you for sharing.

Very good post. I am actually feeling the same the last couple days.
With live and work responsibilities pilling up, feeling very demotivated. But I want to make a change to this. : )

Well said!

Yesterday only I was changing the gas pipe of my shower and after all the hard work, the water was not getting heated. I tried switching it on some 5 times but still no luck.

I was preparing to disassemble everything again to see the problem when my girlfriend tried one last time. Guess what! The water heater was working. The gas was taking some times to travel the whole length of the pipe.

Sometimes we are one step away from success and we don't know it.

Your post made my day. Cheers :)

I'm trying really hard!

Really appreciate this. I'm a yoga teacher and have tried several times to start building an online following via blogging, but have always fizzled out. Content like this reaffirms that I just need to keep going. Thanks again!

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Your posts are a great source of wisdom. I'm glad so many people view them! Just do your best - consistently! Lol

Great post!

That's awesome about your Amazon merch. Where do I find info on your shirts? Thanks.

Would love to hear something about your initial phases on steemit, how do you grow till this much success

Great writeup Kaylin, it is a good read with nice pictures and it helps motivate me to keep going. My blog is mainly about nature photography and it is indeed difficult to keep it going constantly. Because in the end you dont want to post random photographs and keep the quality high. This week we had terrible weather, last 2 weeks i was ill so keeping the blog going was not easy.

Agree completely. And finally more and more people in the artworld too understand, how overrated "talent" is. In my eyes, this thing called talent simply means, that you like doing a paritucular thing... therefore you do it often and... of course you eventually get good at doing it :-)

You hit the nail on the head @kaylinart! Congratulations on your relentless pursuit of what is important to you and thanks for sharing what we all need to hear.

Great lessons here - things I've seen borne out again and again.

I have a nephew who barely graduated art school and is now working as a full-time illustrator because he never stopped practicing. Gradually his awkward renditions evolved into their own distinctive style. And then there's the artist Shitty Watercolor who started sharing primitive doodles on Reddit and now does stunning work.

The hardest part is finding something you love enough to do on a regular basis, even if you don't like doing it on a particular day. Or just being bull-headed enough to keep trying in the face of discouragement. I think being traditionally "intelligent," in a lot of cases, gets in the way of this kind of persistence.

Another cool post, glad I went ahead and followed you. I've come face-to-face with this phenomenon myself and am seeing the benefits of sticking with the things that matter to me; art, music, writing.

I've set daily habits in place for each and have improved drastically.

As they say, the difference between an amateur and a pro - the pro always shows up.

Thanks for this post!

Am I trying ? Not always . Do I want to admit it ? Not always .

@kaylinart
I believe that a large part of it is actually stimulus and information overload.
So discipline in using all this amazing technology is vitally important(and something I suck at in this moment).
And as you said: consistency is King!
Peace!!

Motivational. I need to read more of these^. Ty!!