SCE: Steady Consistent Effort
Are you putting it in?
Here’s the thing…the key to making lasting progress isn’t extreme diets, quick hacks, all night cram sessions or last minute carb loads. The key is way more boring than that. It’s showing up daily, putting in the work, finding ways to overcome perceived obstacles, eliminating excuses, and being the kind of person who does what they said they were going to do. The key is SCE: Steady Consistent Effort.
Steady means “constant in feeling, principle, purpose, or attachment”. Steady is “regular, even, and continuous in development, frequency, or intensity”. If you describe a person as steady, you might mean that they are even keeled, sensible or reliable. A goal for myself as a coach is to be steady. I have clients who struggle with being steady. My role isn’t to fix that. My role is to provide steadiness in our practice. If you want to make progress in anything, you must be steady. People trust someone who is steady. You want your craftsperson to be steady. You want your friends to be steady. You want to be steady for your future self.
Consistent means “marked by harmony, regularity, or continuity; free from variation or contradiction”. Consistent people “show conformity to character, profession, belief, or custom.” My role as a coach is not necessarily to program the most trendy exercises, my role is to model consistency. Consistency is the foundation for any great achievement. Randomness is in opposition to consistency. Random is lacking a plan, purpose or pattern. Consistent people make progress. Random people get lucky sometimes. Consistent people have more peace in their lives. If you are consistent in your practice, you will eventually get better.
Effort means “a conscious exertion of power, hard work”. Effort is where the rubber meets the road. Anything of value requires effort and nothing great is accomplished without it. Effort involves having faith. When you are uncertain whether your effort will illicit a result, you might be fooled into stopping. For many people, if they can’t be absolutely sure of an outcome, they’d rather not put in the effort. This is a problem. Effort requires digging in. Effort requires trust. You might fail. Effort requires you to get out of your comfort zone and push past your perceived limits enough to illicit change.
The key to success, growth and change are to apply SCE: Steady Consistent Effort. To be someone who shows up and can be counted on. You will need to be consistent and not contradictory in your behavior. You must apply effort in order to achieve anything in life. Nothing great comes easily. Most people want to coast. Most people don’t want to feel the pain required to change, yet they’re willing to feel the pain of sameness. We are comfortable with what we are comfortable with, even if it’s causing us pain. Don’t be most people.
As a coach, I will try all the strategies in my toolbox to help a client get from where they are to where they want to be. I will attempt to put together the best exercises possible, with the “just right” sets and reps scheme. I will attempt to help relieve pain and add muscle. I will offer the best and most up to date advice on nutrition and weight loss strategies. I will offer consistency, structure, and a safe and friendly environment. I will do all these things, and the reality is that some people will still get stuck, stall, regress, and quit.
Earlier in my career, I would let this get to me. I would take it personally, put it on my shoulders and assume it was all my fault. “Maybe I am a bad coach”. “I guess I don’t know what I’m doing”. Of course it is always appropriate to reflect and make sure you’re in the ballpark. It’s healthy to ask questions and seek guidance if you’re unsure. And it’s also okay to keep showing up, keep being consistent and to let the client explore their own path. I may have some control over what happens in a session, but I have zero control over anyone’s life outside of that.
As it turns out, most people are running their own mission. We each carry our own programming based upon lifelong tendencies. People will do what they’re comfortable with, when they want to, and how they see fit. In truth, most of the best advice goes untaken, initially. Many times, it is not until years later when people mention they’ve made a behavior change and you recall that’s something that you were reinforcing from day one. And that’s okay! As a coach, my job isn’t to persuade and convince and coax, or even to take credit…my job is to provide and encourage steady consistent effort. I can only control that. If you can apply SCE: Steady Consistent Effort each day, you will reap immense benefits in your life.
