how to actually be consistent

Summary

This video delves into the concept of consistency, emphasizing that true success requires consistent effort rather than sporadic intense work. It critiques the idea that work ethic alone is sufficient, advocating instead for a balanced approach to inputs and outputs. The speaker explains how to develop consistency through understanding emotional associations and managing inputs wisely. They introduce the idea of 'decadence points,' which help in budgeting effort and indulgence, making it clear that consistency in small, regular actions leads to greater overall success.

Takeaways

• 😌 Consistency is not just about brute force work ethic; it's a learned skill that can lead to success in various areas of life.
• 🏋️ Productivity is the result of consistent inputs of time, energy, and attention, which are all finite resources.
• 📉 The law of diminishing returns suggests that the most significant outputs come from the initial inputs, and as inputs continue, outputs will gradually decrease.
• 🔄 Consistency is about maintaining regular inputs, not necessarily the outputs, which are influenced but not controlled by us.
• 🎯 Rebranding emotional associations can help break the rut cycle by changing how we feel about certain actions, making them more appealing.
• 🧘‍♂️ Introspection is key to understanding our emotional responses to potential actions, which can lead to more consistent behavior.
• 💪 Developing character traits through consistent actions, like exercising authority over emotions, can improve our capacity for inputs across all domains.
• 🤔 Acknowledging that we will often choose what feels best can help us direct our actions intentionally rather than by accident.
• 🏁 Using 'decadence points' as a concept can help manage indulgences and maintain consistency by being aware of how we spend them.
• 🚫 Recognizing that we may not win every battle but can still win the war by choosing which battles to lose strategically.
• 💡 The final realization is that most of the time, we will choose what feels best, and the key is to bring that choice under conscious control to give it direction.

Q & A

What is the main argument of the video script?

The main argument of the video script is that consistency in effort and inputs is crucial for achieving success and desired outputs, rather than relying on brute force work ethic or sporadic bursts of motivation.

Why is consistency considered more important than the amount of effort in one session?

Consistency is considered more important because spreading effort over a longer period yields better results due to the law of diminishing returns. Regular, smaller efforts often produce more significant and sustainable progress than irregular, intensive efforts.

What is the 'rut cycle' as described in the script?

The 'rut cycle' refers to a pattern where a person experiences a week of high productivity followed by several weeks of low or no productivity, leading to inconsistent results and frustration.

How can emotional associations influence productivity and consistency?

Emotional associations influence productivity by affecting how we perceive potential actions. Positive associations with productive activities can motivate us to engage in them more consistently, while negative associations can lead to avoidance and procrastination.

What is the 'swave cycle' and how does it impact progress?

The 'swave cycle' is a pattern where periods of high productivity are followed by periods of inactivity, resulting in an overall average performance. This cycle prevents consistent progress because the gains made during productive periods are canceled out by the inactivity.

What are 'decadence points' and how do they help in managing consistency?

'Decadence points' are a conceptual tool for managing indulgence and productivity. By acknowledging and budgeting these points, individuals can choose which battles to lose and prevent the 'all-or-nothing' mentality that leads to binge behaviors.

What is the importance of reprogramming emotional associations?

Reprogramming emotional associations is crucial because it helps align our feelings with our goals, making it easier to choose productive actions even when they initially feel uncomfortable or undesirable.

How does the script suggest one should handle failure and setbacks?

The script suggests handling failure and setbacks by recognizing that occasional indulgence or failure is inevitable. It's important to acknowledge these instances, learn from them, and get back on track without letting them derail overall progress.

What role does introspection play in achieving consistency?

Introspection helps individuals understand their emotional responses to different actions, enabling them to make more informed choices and reprogram their associations with productive activities.

What is the key takeaway for improving consistency according to the script?

The key takeaway is that consistency is achieved by managing inputs and emotional associations effectively, budgeting decadence points, and focusing on incremental progress rather than perfection.

Outlines

00:00

🚫 Avoiding Failure through Inconsistency

This paragraph discusses the importance of avoiding consistency if one aims to fail. It highlights the misconception that consistency might lead to accidental success and reflects on the author's past struggles with work ethic and the misunderstanding of consistency as mere brute force.

05:01

⚖️ Balancing Inputs and Outputs

This section introduces the concept of inputs and outputs, explaining that productivity is the result of inputs like time, energy, and attention. It emphasizes the finite nature of these resources and the importance of spreading efforts over time for better results, illustrated with examples from fitness and meditation.

10:03

💡 Rebranding Emotional Associations

The focus here is on the emotional associations tied to actions. The author uses an exercise to illustrate how different choices evoke different emotional responses, leading to cycles of productivity and ruts. The importance of rebranding these emotional associations to maintain consistency is emphasized.

15:05

🔄 Breaking the Rut Cycle

This paragraph explains how emotional associations affect decision-making and consistency. It introduces the concept of the 'swave cycle,' where periods of productivity are followed by ruts, and outlines three levers to pull to break this cycle: introspection, web of practices, and superordinate truth discovery.

⚖️ Balancing Decadence Points

The concept of 'decadence points' is introduced, explaining that everyone indulges in easy options sometimes. The key is to budget these indulgences and consciously choose which battles to lose. This approach prevents the binge fallacy and helps maintain consistency despite occasional lapses.

🏆 Prioritizing and Averaging Efforts

The final paragraph discusses a crucial shift in mindset: understanding that efforts and indulgences operate on separate axes. Consistent efforts, even if not perfectly sustained, accumulate over time and are never truly lost. This frame shift helps maintain progress and encourages persistence, even in the face of setbacks.

Keywords

💡Consistency

Consistency refers to the regularity and persistence in performing actions. In the video, it is emphasized as a crucial element for achieving success. The script explains that consistent effort, even if smaller in magnitude, yields better results over time compared to sporadic, intense efforts. For instance, going to the gym for an hour a day over five days is more effective than a single five-hour session.

💡Inputs

Inputs are the efforts, time, energy, and attention one invests into tasks. The video describes how these finite resources, when allocated consistently, can influence the outputs or results one achieves. Inputs are the controllable aspects of productivity, contrasting with outputs which are influenced but not controlled.

💡Outputs

Outputs are the results or products of one's efforts. The video explains that while inputs (effort, time, energy) can be controlled, outputs are influenced by these inputs but are not entirely within one's control. For example, the gains from working out are outputs influenced by the consistency and quality of the workouts.

💡Law of Diminishing Returns

The Law of Diminishing Returns states that the majority of outputs come from initial inputs, and as inputs increase, the rate of output growth decreases. The video uses this concept to explain why consistency in smaller efforts is more beneficial than large, infrequent efforts. For instance, initial gains in the gym are significant, but they taper off with excessive input beyond a certain point.

💡Emotional Associations

Emotional associations refer to the feelings linked to different actions. The video highlights how our choices are often influenced by these associations, with tasks linked to negative emotions being avoided and those with positive emotions being pursued. Rebranding these associations can change one's approach to consistency and productivity.

💡Rut Cycle

The rut cycle describes a pattern of intense productivity followed by periods of inactivity. The video illustrates this cycle where one might work hard for a week and then do nothing for the next three weeks. This inconsistency hinders long-term progress and is linked to how emotional associations influence decision-making.

💡Decadence Points

Decadence points are a metaphorical concept used to describe the luxury or indulgence in easy options. The video suggests that by acknowledging and budgeting these points, one can strategically choose when to indulge in easier tasks, thus maintaining overall productivity without falling into the binge fallacy.

💡Beginner's Luck

Beginner's luck is the phenomenon where beginners experience disproportionate success early on. The video mentions this to explain the high returns on initial inputs and how this concept aligns with the law of diminishing returns. Leveraging beginner's luck can be beneficial in building early momentum.

💡Web of Practices

The web of practices involves integrating various productive habits into one's routine. The video advises including actions with initially negative emotional associations into daily practices to build consistency. Over time, this integration helps in reprogramming emotional responses and enhances the capacity for consistent inputs.

💡Self-Authentication

Self-authentication refers to aligning one's actions with their true self and goals. The video suggests using introspection and other practices to authenticate actions, ensuring they align with one's desired outcomes. This process helps in maintaining consistency and avoiding the rut cycle by making conscious, deliberate choices.

Highlights

The importance of consistency in achieving success and how it's often misunderstood.

The concept that consistency is a result of not doing too many things wrong, rather than brute force work ethic.

The personal struggle with work ethic and the realization that consistency requires more than just being a stronger person.

The role of emotional associations in decision-making and how they influence our actions and habits.

The idea that actions like working out have 'brands' that elicit different emotional responses.

The exercise to understand emotional associations with actions like meditation versus watching YouTube.

The explanation of how the 'rut cycle' occurs due to the temporary rebranding of actions with positive emotions.

The introduction of three main levers to improve consistency: introspection, web of practices, and superordinate truth discovery.

The concept of 'decadence points' as a method to budget our indulgences and maintain consistency.

The importance of acknowledging our natural tendency towards laziness and using it to choose which battles to lose.

The strategy of using 'decadence points' to avoid the 'binge fallacy' and maintain progress.

The distinction between actions that contribute to growth and those that lead to decay, emphasizing the importance of maintaining progress.

The analogy of financial budgeting to explain the concept of 'decadence points' and the importance of not losing progress.

The final realization for improving consistency: knowing most of the time we will choose what feels best and directing that choice purposefully.

The practical application of the concepts discussed to become a published author, improve physical health, and work remotely.

The impact of emotional reprogramming on our capacity for consistency and the importance of self-awareness in this process.

The conclusion that actions reveal more about our beliefs than thoughts or words, emphasizing the need for alignment between our desires and actions.

Transcripts

[Music]

what if you were trying to ensure you

were a failure you could do everything

wrong but you have to make sure you're

not consistent because if you are you

might still accidentally become

successful I like the way that you

moving around me I fully on the day that

you found me I know you see the killers

and deers around me this quote is great

but somewhat misleading since

consistency is the product of not doing

too many things wrong problem is most

people don't know what those things are

and so they do them my biggest

insecurity used to be my work ethic I

rarely managed to summon the motivation

to do anything and when I did it would

be characterized by one week of being on

top of my game followed by three weeks

of doing jack [ __ ] aka the rut cycle I

thought that consistency was just the

product of Brute Force work ethic and

that if I was just a stronger person

then I would work more I was a teenager

okay please excuse my cluelessness I

still hadn't even heard that Einstein

quote work ethic is a lie invented by

big productivity to sell you more Sigma

grind set it's true learning how to

actually be consistent was the change

that got me to being a published author

who doesn't look like a twig and travels

the world working remotely the only

downside is that nobody calls me Angelo

anymore they just call me professional

poon slayer

9000 anyway so you want to be consistent

here's absolutely everything that I've

learned about consistency over the past

couple years this video is probably

worth a few thousand by the way so

listen up

[ __ ] sorry relas the

brain brain form ofc you are what you

repeatedly do no you are the average of

what you repeatedly do now let's take a

closer look at this concept by turning

it into an equation cu the internet

loves equations this will help us see

the impact of consistency on our results

more clearly firstly productivity is

defined as the state or quality of

producing something so the more results

you produce the more productive you are

to stick with our maths angle let's call

results outputs and your inputs are the

effort that you put in so input equals

time plus energy time attention notice

that all of those things are finite you

can get more energy manage your time

better and improve the depth of your

attention via meditation and Screen Time

regulation but on any given day you'll

only have a finite amount of each let's

say 1 hour of your energy and attention

equals one unit of inputs depending on

what you're working on your outputs will

differ drastically for instance if you

spend two input units in the gym then

your outputs will mainly be in your

physique health and character traits not

your finances or love life and vice

versa if you spend those inputs on a

date but whether it's a good physique or

a better love life both outputs are

desirable because we value them so let's

use value itself itself as the output to

separate it from any particular

man that's not how you say that from any

particular manifestation of value

whether that be money Health

relationships Peace of Mind whatever it

is cool so values the output let's give

it a unit and for Simplicity sake let's

just say that one unit of inputs on

average gives you one unit of outputs

obviously this depends on what you're

prioritizing but we'll call it an

average now outputs are outside of our

control but within our influence you

can't control how many gains you get

after a month in the gym

but you can influence it by changing the

amount of time energy and attention you

give it during that period you could

educate yourself on how to perfectly

perform each exercise and optimize your

diet and sleep and you can try twice as

hard in the gym all of these things will

influence your outputs the amount of

gains you get but as the quote at the

beginning of this video said your most

important input to optimize for is

consistency why because if you go to the

gym 1 hour a day for 5 days you'll get a

lot more results or gains than you would

if you just went one day for 5 hours

even though it's the same amount of

input time when you spread it out over a

longer period you get better results

it's like rolling a snowball but why is

this the case um because of the law of

diminishing returns like a bullet from a

gun it burns when you realize she was

never your girl it was just your turn

you got to face your demons don't matter

how much money you earn have you ever

heard of beginner's luck well it's real

and you can use it to your advantage AG

the law of diminishing returns states

that the majority of outputs in life

come from the initial inputs and as your

inputs continue to increase your outputs

will taper off as they begin to reach

their natural ceiling you see it all the

time with technology for instance a $50

camera will be a lot worse than a $100

camera but a $50,000 camera will give

you pretty much the same image as a

$100,000 camera because you're pretty

much reaching the limits of the

technology at that point so when you go

to the gym for 1 hour 5 days in a row

each time you go you catch that high

return area of the payoff curve even

with meditation if you meditate for 10

minutes a day for 6 days in a row you'll

get a lot more results than if you only

did it once for a whole hour so

consistency is not about consistent

outputs since while we can influence

them they're out of our control so

consistency is about consistent inputs

but you knew that already and while

consistency is the best way to increase

your outputs it's also the hardest thing

to achieve and why I'll let Homer

explain someday these kids will be out

of the house and you'll regret not

spending more time with them that's a

problem for future Homer man I don't

envy that guy this next part rebranding

emotional associations is the second

most important piece of information in

this whole video so pay attention the

most important part is at the End by the

way but it won't make sense unless you

understand this part so trust me you're

going to want to hear this when you

think of Nike Apple Northface or Bill

Cosby you have very different emotional

associations to each brand what most

people don't realize is that actions

like working out or watching movies have

Brands too when we consider what our

next immediate action could be each

option will present a very different

emotional Association emotion emotional

assoc emotional

Association and if you don't get what I

mean there's an exercise we can do that

depicts this perfectly once this video

ends or you click off it early bastard

you have two options you can meditate

for 10 minutes or you can continue

watching YouTube and I've just presented

that choice to you it's in your head now

so now you must choose sorry not sorry

the first step of the exercise is to

consider the meditation option really

consider that you could choose to do

that because you could and pay attention

to how your body feels about the idea of

it there's likely a subtle emotion of

resistance within you that feels more

like contraction than expansion a subtle

sense that the walls are closing in

around you now consider choosing to

watch more YouTube or do something fun

now there's a more comfortable emotion

that's more seductive right every day

you have choices to make and every day

you will pay attention to how each

option makes you feel feel when you

think about it and then you'll choose to

do the one that feels the best to think

about and this is where we get our rut

cycle from you know where you're on top

of your [ __ ] for about a week and then

the next week it's just bed rotting and

jerking off whenever that happens it's

likely because you watched some

motivational content or came to some

realizations that changed the emotional

Association that you have to the work

maybe you watched Rocky and identified

with the training scene so the idea of

doing work suddenly became associated

with that storyline and felt good so you

did lots of work for a week but that's

the problem on the outside it looked

like you finally found some consistency

but on the inside you're still a

[ __ ] what I meant to say was on the

inside nothing changed about your

decision-making process you were still

just choosing to do what felt best the

only difference is that the inputs the

work got rebranded to have a better

emotional Association but this is

temporary so when it stops feeling best

which it will you'll stop inputting lose

momentum and your outputs will take a

massive hit which will then reinforce

the belief that your inputs are futile

which further reinforces your negative

emotional associations to the work and

places you directly back into a rut I

was doing so well and feeling so good

about it too and I still fell off this

[ __ ] must be impossible it's not even

worth it I shouldn't even try that again

this is what I call the swave cycle

because it makes your inputs look like a

sine wave except it's

sinful if your inputs look like a sine

wave then the ruts and binges cancel out

all of the good work that you do and you

land around dead average this is how you

end up making no progress despite doing

the

work so how do we fix this there are

three main levers that you can pull to

fix this they're from my self

authentication video link in description

introspection web of practices and

superordinate Truth Discovery we've

already began to apply introspection

when we did our exercise and paid

attention to our emotional responses to

various potential actions but it's good

to continue doing this whenever you find

find yourself debating an

input level two web of practices once

you've applied level one include this

into your web of practices choose to do

the action that has the worst emotional

Association just once today you may not

be Superman but you can do this once

simply get used to exercising authority

over your emotions and the main output

of this exercise won't be the direct

results of the work although there will

be that but rather the development of

the character trait that it cultivates

it's a stat in your character trait

skill tree that literally increases your

capacity for inputs across all other

domains if you haven't watched the self

authentication video then this probably

won't make much sense but it'll be the

first line of the description this

practice is a tiny bit of brute force

that acts as the Thin end of the wedge

to get you to a point where you don't

have to use so much force and will but

Behavior does have inertia and if you're

in a rut getting out of it always begins

with one of these decisions why because

when you do it you find that the emotion

you experience when actually doing the

thing is much less uncomfortable than

the emotion that you have when just

considering doing the thing and this

will begin to reprogram your emotional

associations and therefore your capacity

for consistency and a week later you'll

be able to input more consistently than

you can today look at that we're

learning and growing how

pleasant too

Pleasant this one is a bit brutal but

very important consider what you want to

achieve where you want to go and then

ask yourself do my current actions lead

to that place if not you know that now

so you must either change your actions

or admit to yourself that you're

actually okay with not getting the

result and therefore you're okay with

being a failure in that domain and

therefore you will be one even if you

think you're not okay with failing even

if you identify as somebody who's

ambitious you're acting as if you are

okay with not getting the result and

actions tell us more about our beliefs

than thoughts thoughts or words P.S

there's nothing wrong with failing at

something I'm not telling you off you're

free to fail it's your life some of us

just aren't going to achieve the things

that we want and maybe that's you but if

it is don't deceive Yourself by holding

on to Pipe Dreams of greatness when your

actions don't match your desired

outcomes because if you do one day

you'll wake up and realize it was all a

dream and won't be prepared to handle

the weight of that realization and the

lies that you told yourself about your

trajectory will make you weak they'll

make you lash out of people who point

out your own failure even if it's not

verbally even just by being in a room

with someone doing better than you you

will resent them your bitterness will

only add insult to injury as you lose

friends over your divided identity if

you're going to fail fail gracefully

don't be a [ __ ] about it lots of you

will be hearing this thinking nuh-uh not

me I'm the chosen one but the fact is

you're going to have to fail at some

stuff you can have everything you want

but not all at once life is a game of

tradeoffs which brings me to the final

and most important realization for

improving your consistency if you only

take away one thing from this video make

it be this next

[Music]

part we can reprogram our emotional

associations to some degree by brute

forcing our way to realizing that the

discomfort of doing the thing is not as

bad as the discomfort of thinking about

doing the thing and by making the easy

things like eating the pizza and laying

in bed harder to do by acknowledging

where they lead but but in general as a

flesh and Bone Homo Sapien you won't

rise to the level of your expectations

but fall to the level of your training

and it's very hard to train positive

emotional associations to every single

form of input the whole choosing to do

what has the best emotional association

thing happens so quickly and subtly that

it's almost imperceptible so how do you

win a battle that you barely even notice

is happening the key is to know that

most of the time you will not most of

the time you will choose what feels best

and to bring that under your control go

to do it on purpose rather than by

accident that way you can give it

Direction hear me out one thing you'll

notice on your journey of Truth

Discovery is that you'll fail to choose

the high resistance option almost all of

the time and it's simply not sustainable

to brute force your way to consistency

so if we can't win every battle how do

we still win the war we choose which

ones to lose keep count and in doing so

rot our resources to the battles that we

simply refuse to lose and how do we do

this well this is the part that changed

my life the key is to Grant yourself

decadence points and to be aware of how

you're spending them what is decadence

moral or cultural decline as

characterized by excessive Indulgence in

pleasure or luxury if you want to be

jacked you can't afford the luxury of

skipping the gym or partying all the

time and if you want to improve your

mind then you can't afford the luxury of

scrolling Tik Tok for 2 hours rather

than meditating for 10 minutes it's

counterintuitive but you have to allow

yourself to be a decadent piece of [ __ ]

who does the easy option x amount of the

time since you're going to be a lazy

idiot either way it's in your nature

just acknowledging that fact brings it

into the conscious mind which means you

get to choose which battles to lose this

Frame makes it so that you never fall

into the ah what the hell trap of

believing that one failure justifies

another AKA The binge fallacy which is

at the core of the rut cycle this is the

guy who diets absolutely perfectly for 5

days then eats one cookie and instantly

orders three Domino's Pizzas directly

afterwards I am definitely not speaking

from experience if you're going hard in

your gym Arc don't stress if you miss

something else from your web of

practices every once in a while you had

a super busy day and completely forgot

to meditate cool acknowledge that fact

bring it into the domain of the

conscious then you get to decide whether

you want to meditate twice tomorrow to

even out your frequency and get those

decadence points back or if you simply

want to take the L and get back on the

horse tomorrow went out with some

friends and ate some pizza got a little

bit [ __ ] up cool nothing's changed you

haven't fallen off you simply spent a

bunch of your decadence points that's

fine you're allowed to do that but it's

a budgeting issue it does mean that

you'll have less available to spend

tomorrow if you want to get where you're

going that is and if you still spend

lots of decadence points tomorrow then

we resort to the most brutal of the

levers Lev three ask yourself where you

want to go if your current actions will

take you there and if not admit to

yourself that you're okay with failing

but this decadence points thing all

hinges on one frame shift probably the

most important point of this entire

video so bear with me lots of people

feel like if they make $10 and then

spend $10 they've made nothing in total

this is not true you have kept every

single dollar you've ever earned and

you've lost every single dollar you've

ever spent if you start with $100 and

then skip the part where you make the

$10 chances are you'll probably still

end up spending $10 later especially if

you're the type of person who skips out

on making $10 and so what will you be

left with $90 however if you start with

$100 and then you don't skip making $10

and then you spend $10 anyway what are

you left with $100 90 versus 100 you

keep that extra 10 the same is true of

output units and decadence points in

life there are actions that contribute

to our growth and actions that

contribute to our Decay they are two

separate axes most people think that

they are One Singular bar and they keep

trying to push themselves up and then

they fall back down but there are two

different bars at play and where you end

up is is where they average out if you

meditate every day for a whole week and

then fail to meditate next week the

consistency that you built up in week

one is not lost the benefits of that

though small will carry through in the

same way that that $10 carried through

take care of your pennies and your

pounds will take care of themselves you

could have skipped both weeks and then

you'd be down by two weeks rather than

just by one and the outputs that you

lost in the second week are also Gone

Forever you can't get those back you'll

never get that back for the same reason

that you'll never lose the results that

you got from the week that you did put

in this frame shift makes it so that it

is never a bad idea to eat a good meal

get a good night's sleep meditate or get

one more rep in even if you're in a rut

because the inner [ __ ] that wants us to

be decadent failures is like Groot it

can only say one phrase it's not worth

it and this frame shift acknowledges the

truth that it is always worth it and it

makes it so that it's always a bad idea

to make a rut worse you can never get

back progress that you lost because even

if you get back to the same place if

you'd never lost that progress in the

first place you'd be further ahead now

from the same amount of work but that's

just a

theory a game theory get it cuz points

and skill trees

and when we roide come be quick with

game you claim to be a player but I

[ __ ] your wife