One of the key indicators of success is Consistency.
The consistency that thrives on deciphering a sustainable pattern.
Successful people have over the decades shared how waking up and consistently following a defined pattern was the real ingredient to their success.
I love the fact that consistency is getting its flowers. However, my joy is that these successful people while sharing their stories recognize the role of finding and sticking to a pattern that works for them, and how it is indeed the recognition of that pattern that triggered the chain reaction of their success.
I mean, consistency is a key ingredient. But, if in your quest for success, you consistently do what does not align with your body and principles, then you may consistently degenerate till you are barely recognizable.
On finding a pattern that works, let me tell you this story about myself.
While I was in the university, my first semester exams were a few weeks ahead and I decided to form a reading pattern that will help me excel. This led to my trying out different patterns of reading, and for the purpose of this newsletter, I will share just two. One that worked, and the one that didn't.
The Pattern That Did Not Work.
So, on this evening of a particular day, precisely 48 hours to my first paper, I took coffee. Strong and black, mixed with a little bit of Coca-Cola. The plan was to stay awake the whole night reading (I had seen some of my classmates do this and it kept them awake to read all night). The target 🎯 was 9 hours of intensive studying.
But, something weird happened. My brain went on an overdrive. I could neither sit still nor concentrate. I was awake all night. I had my books spread before me but could neither read nor comprehend a thing. I couldn't sleep either (the mixture of coffee and Cola was very potent).
This went on till daybreak. My roommates woke up to see me still sitting wide-eyed on my desk in my part of the room and were hailing me for having read all night. I did not tell them that I had neither read nor understood a thing all night.
12 hours to my exam, and I still couldn't read or stay still. I was almost going crazy. I could feel that my body was weak and craving sleep, but I could not find sleep. I had so much caffeine in my system.
Eventually, I had to open up to my roommates about what was going on with me, and they called a doctor friend who recommended that I take evaporated liquid milk. Lots of it. My roommates got me two tins of liquid evaporated milk and ensured I took it all at a go.
The resultant effect?
I slept off in an hour and woke up about 4 hours to my exam. Feeling so refreshed, I showered, ate, and read for about an hour before proceeding to the exam hall.
Long story short. I had a 50 (C) when my result came out.
Of course, I never went back to that pattern nor touched coffee again. But one thing was clear. The coffee-induced overnight study pattern would not work for me.
The Pattern That Worked.
The next semester, I decided to find a conducive study pattern that will conveniently avail me 9 hours of studying every day until I finished my exams. I already knew from previous experience(s) that I comprehend better during the day. So, I drew up a 24-hour study timetable.
5am: Wake up, shower, pack a snack for breakfast, and books to study that day.
6am: Go (walk to church) for morning mass.
8am: Have a snack and go to the library. Study till 1pm.
1pm: Return to the hostel, have lunch, and take a nap for about two hours.
5pm: Return to the library and study till 9pm (when the school library closes for the day).
9:15pm: Retire to my room, have dinner, and sleep till the next morning (5am) when I wake up.
Next day: Repeat the cycle.
This particular pattern was so easy and soothing for me because it was all-encompassing and somehow made me go through my day as normal.
Suffice to say that I aced my papers that semester, so I stuck to this pattern for the rest of my time in college.
Asides from helping me maximize my days (which is when I am most active and prone to comprehending things better), this particular pattern afforded me time to eat and sleep well, as well as commune with God as I would love to. It also afforded me about 30 minutes of intense meditation every day as I walked to church for morning masses. And so, I was able to kick-start my day with both a refined mind and body.
I stuck to this pattern until I graduated, and my grades improved so well.
To my coursemates and everyone really, it might have seemed that the improvement in my grades was due to my daily consistent 9 hours of studying. However, the key ingredient was actually finding the right 9 hours to study. Then following that study pattern consistently.
You see, while success is hinged on consistency, that consistency is largely dependent on finding and sticking to a working pattern. Not just a generic working pattern, but one tailored specifically to suit you.
When you do this, you automatically set yourself up to excel. Of course, there are universal patterns that work in almost all instances, such as:
The result of effort and hard work is success.
However, this 👆🏾 and all others convert positively and exponentially when you tailor it to a pattern that suits you.
Gagan Biyani, the CEO of Udemy shares his witness to pattern-finding across disciplines. In his words on pattern recognition;
It is my sincere hope that you find time to review your pattern of living, working, networking, and even eating. I hope that you decipher where you might need to make certain adjustments to further improve your all-around productivity. I do hope that you recognize patterns, understand them, and deploy them to thrive in multiple disciplines.
Cheers! To your continual success! 🥂
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