Photo by Luis Villasmil from Unsplash

The majority of people believe that to get to the point of success, you must be willing to devote your whole life towards that ultimate goal. Big dreams require big sacrifices, but some people like to cheat their way through the process by indulging themselves in get-rich-quick schemes. They don’t have the guts to play the real game of life that means subjecting themselves to adversity, rejection, competition, and many more tragedies that may hinder their way to success.

Well, considering the gravity of confidence and patience it takes, it’s safe to say not everyone has the gift and ability to challenge impossibilities. The best things in life are reserved for the very few people who have what it takes to make a difference in their lives. To the minority of people who walk the talk, they dedicate a huge amount of their time to building their careers, and they, too, face their own struggle.

They tend to get so in control of their choices and preempt the outcome of those decisions. They often forget that they don’t control life and how different circumstances can drastically change everything with a snap of a finger. These types of people have such huge ambitions, and they’re blessed with the skill and attitude to back them up.

However, the one setback that’s pulling them down from reaching their fullest potential is their lack of setting boundaries. They work so hard that they can’t discipline themselves on balancing work and rest. As long as we’re living, we never run out of things to get done. Naturally, we want to get as much of these things done so we need to take limits.

No one wants to wake up feeling like a dead battery, but unfortunately, many people around the world feel this way. Some people take it too far, working long hours every day and having little to no sleep. Unhealthy sleeping habits and poor work management are only a few of the many reasons they end up feeling burnt out from work.

Working hard consistently doesn’t mean you have to be sleep-deprived. It doesn’t mean you don’t get to take a break anymore either. However, what it truly means is giving your best day by day without compromising other important aspects of your life as well. 

 

WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE BETWEEN BEING CONSISTENT AND FEELING BURNT OUT?  

 

A lot of people think that consistency is the secret key to success, and while that may be true, there is a huge misconception tied around it. They say we should be consistent in everything we do, but what exactly should we be consistent in? If you’re talking about being consistent with results, then you must be referring to maintaining or increasing the quality of work every day.

In regards to being consistent in the level of productivity, perhaps you’re talking about the quantity of workload meaning you must have more tasks finished than yesterday. Frankly, these measurements don’t necessarily make you any more successful. What it does, however, is give you a false sense of accomplishment that bases on the notion, “the faster you get things done, the faster you reach success.”

This misconception has made a lot of people like robots, and they turn a blind eye. What you should be is consistent with your determination to grow, willpower to make progress, and the positive attitude to cope with failure. Your worth shouldn’t be quantified by your productivity every day. Many things go on in our lives that must be given equal importance like looking after our health and being with loved ones. No one should be working too hard every single day at the expense of our health and sanity. 

 

IS WORKING HARD CONSISTENTLY NECESSARY? 

 

In this day and age of technological advancement, to work hard consistently is a rare quality to find nowadays. It is not only necessary but also a strategic approach to achieve your dreams quicker. Being consistent means matching vision with discipline. Being consistent entails a strong grasp and full outlook of the big picture while working on the tasks at hand to accomplish the small goals.

When you’re consistent, you train your mind to not only get used to what you’re doing but also to feel a sense of accomplishment every time you maintain the streak of doing good habits and fulfilling your promises. When we do something regularly, we build stronger morale within ourselves because we’d want to do better and quicker at our work. Not only do we cultivate momentum but also pure optimistic energy that contributes greatly to the speed and direction towards our ambitions. 

 

YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT YOU WON’T ALWAYS FEEL INSPIRED OR MOTIVATED TO DO THE WORK 

 

Let go of the notion that we are defined by the results we create every day. Fight against the pressure telling us we need to dedicate our entire day working because you can’t always be enthusiastic about it. You need to allow yourself to be tired and to feel unmotivated without feeling guilty about it.

Make it your daily goal to focus on bettering yourself rather than always watching what others are doing. This starts by safeguarding yourself from the distractions, materially or mentally, that lead you to procrastination and analysis paralysis. Truly invest in your physical health by getting enough sleep and eating nutritious food, and the goodness will reflect on the inside. 

 

You might also like: How to Overcome Burnout and Stay Motivated from Harvard Business Review

 

8 WAYS TO WORK HARD CONSISTENTLY WITHOUT FEELING BURNT OUT: 

 

TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH  

 

There’s nothing worse than being too exhausted from overworking yourself. People overlook the grave importance of taking care of one’s health because they’re too obsessed with meeting a mark or accomplishing something now. When you’re in the zone of working, it’s easy to ignore your sleeping schedule and eating habits.

It’s important to be strict on the time you eat and rest your mind by seeing it as equally important as your time to work. Otherwise, you would be left with a tired body and unfinished paperwork. In the end, if you do not look after your health responsibly, the other important aspects of your life will suffer a grave consequence as well.

In terms of taking care of your health, keep in mind that it’s vital to schedule days for your vacation as well. A change in scenery and environment is important to avoid burnout. You get to see different people and witness their day-to-day interactions which will inspire you to see life another way.

By being on vacation, you find harmony in life through slowing things down and being mindful of the present (which is unlikely to be acknowledged in your workplace). You can unplug from the constant worry and pressure just by being in a different place, and this can do wonders for your mental health. 

 

ALWAYS REFLECT ON YOUR ‘WHY’ 

 

The secret to working hard consistently is to never lose track of your purpose. Remember that life is already hard enough to pursue your dream for good reasons, what more for bad ones? The same principle applies here, “Work is hard enough when you love what you’re doing, what more of something you don’t genuinely enjoy.”

In whatever path you decide to take in life, the one thing in common is the existence of problems and obstacles along the way. If your purpose is not real and important enough to you, it’s easier for you to lose hope and give up. Without a solid purpose, you wouldn’t be fortified enough to push temptations away and stand your ground.

It’s essential to be aware of what/whom you’re fighting for while constantly assessing whether you still feel the same way every day. Your purpose should be bigger than yourself so you wouldn’t lose your drive and motivation when things get rough. By always seeing the big picture of your goals, you put dedication into your work, and the farther you’re going to go. 

 

FOCUS ON YOUR PROGRESS 

 

One of the most common reasons we find it hard to work hard consistently is the distraction in our head. We always think about someone else’s life and comparing ours with theirs. Let’s not reach the point where we pay more attention and interest to their lives and forget our own. To keep your focus only on your progress, avoid dwelling on other people’s experiences in social media.

You can listen to others’ success stories once in a while and obtain rich life lessons from them, but always go back to yours. In your life and your journey, you are in control of what you do and whom you interact with. If you become so attached to other people’s problems, you will forget to fix your own. Sometimes, it’s those evil voices in your head that cause you to break down and question everything you’ve built.

They distract you from your habits and show you a life that you could only dream of. These voices make you want to wish you’ve lived another life and regret your choices until all sense of gratitude and appreciation is taken away from you. Take risks and learn from your mistakes by not turning a blind eye on your journey. 

 

HAVE MORE PATIENCE 

 

Consistency means knowing when to wait and maintaining composure while doing so. You need to understand that it’s impossible to give your ultimate best at the same rate every day. You’re a human, not a robot. If you’re not patient enough to reap the fruit of your labor, it’s natural to feel unmotivated and always on the verge of your burning point because you can’t see anything else but what’s lacking.

You don’t appreciate yourself for what you have now because you’re waiting for something to happen before you decide to be happy. Foster positivity inside you by making the most out of the opportunities you have now. When you constantly expect what’s the next few years are going to look like, you put an immense load of pressure on your shoulders to achieve that level of success until you drop.

Be grateful for what you have in the present, so you’ll appreciate more of what life has to offer in your waiting season. Having patience also manifests you have complete faith in yourself that your dreams will soon turn into something real. Be proud of the person you are now, and keep in mind that you are always in transition to become better. 

 

DO ONLY WHAT YOU CAN 

 

People love to pressure themselves into performing their best even when they can’t physically do so. If you don’t take care of your health seriously, your body will be in control of you. Create an efficient work schedule that will cater to your responsibilities in terms of urgency and importance. Alter it in such a way that will get you a lot of things done but not to the point where you get too stressed about the workload.

Draw a line that will balance health and productivity. It’s okay to only do what your body and mind can offer for that day. Everyone has those days when your body is unable to do anything; don’t beat yourself about that. Despite the circumstance, if you still have the willpower to do at least one of your scheduled plans, you’re on the right track.

This means that you have the drive to make every day count, and this character will take you places. Know that you’ve done your best and move forward. Perfection is the enemy of consistency. It’s okay to not have the perfect day as long as you’re willing to start again the next day. 

 

REST 

 

A lot of us tend to take for granted our health by abusing it to be fully attentive at work without giving it time to breathe. It’s stupid to think you can work so hard today, barely eating three meals and sleeping late, and expect yourself to work just as hard or even harder tomorrow. You need to change those bad habits for the sake of your health and future. Acknowledge the fact that tending to your health must be the number one priority.

Resting is a form of productive self-care. It’s vital to give yourself breaks not only to recharge but to give your mind a period to heal for all the sacrifices. Nobody can function well without time for leisure and sleep, not even those with the healthiest lifestyles. If you pay no attention to resting as part of your daily routine, you will disrupt your schedule and get fewer things done. If you don’t give your body time to rest, your body will choose for you (and there’s no way of telling how long it will take). 

 

CHALLENGE YOURSELF TO STRIVE BETTER 

 

Challenging yourself can mean differently to other people. It can look like depriving yourself of your wants until you finish your responsibilities for the day. It can also look like staying away from people who enable you to depend on them by giving you things that you don’t need without making you work for them. This kind of treatment doesn’t benefit you in the long run as it teaches you to be lazy and complacent.

Challenging yourself can also be shown in ways of upgrading your daily routine like adding things to improve yourself. It’s essential to build a strategy with yourself that involves challenge yourself to do more than yesterday. This is considered a healthy competition because you don’t look at what others are doing. You can do all things that you set your mind to, so never limit yourself to other people’s image of you. 

 

CHOOSE DISCIPLINE EVERY DAY 

 

If you have the free time but are too lazy to do any work, that is a test of your discipline to combat the temptation in your head. Disciplining yourself is a form of self-love. If you give in to the doubt that’s lurking inside your head, you will lose motivation to do anything. Your routine will be disrupted and your habits will turn from healthy to unhealthy.

When you’re disciplined, you know for yourself that what you’re doing, despite it being arduous, is good for your well-being. If you keep procrastinating, you’re fueling the pessimism and negative energy in your head. You’re putting off the work to do something pleasurable in the meantime which further pulls you back from your goals. Then you would go into this seemingly never-ending self-loathing spiral and you would have no one else to blame but yourself. 

 

CONCLUSION: 

 

To achieve success starts with choosing between believing you can do it and waiting for the circumstances to be easy. When you back up your life’s vision with the relentless pursuit of making it a reality, you start to narrow down your journey into smaller milestones so you don’t feel too overwhelmed with the uncertainty of it all.

Like the minority of people who translate their dreams into firm actions, put in the work into your empire. Think about it as a daily contribution to molding your future self. If you’re consistent with your habits, attitudes, and work ethics, success will come to you in no time. 

 

“Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.”

E. James Rohn