The following is, once again, from John C. Maxwell's The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth. I will be sharing The Law of Consistency and how I can relate to it as a fanfic writer and a student.

 

"The hallmark of excellence, the test of greatness, is consistency." - Jim Tressel

Motivation gets you going. Discipline keeps you growing. Motivation is not enough to finish a fic. Notice how authors seem to be consistent at first, updating almost every week. But after the first few chapters, updates dwindle to once a month, a year and then you wonder if the author will ever update. Keeper has twelve unfinished fics - half of which, I wonder if I'll ever finish. I obviously lack both motivation and discipline. OTL.

As a student, I am consistently getting excellent grades. I get motivated to study through positive reinforcement. I reward myself by watching anime. And it is through discipline that Keeper manages to pull away from the tv. Here is the post on Keeper's study habits, to those who are interested.

So how do we grow in consistency?

1. Know what we need to improve. We need to know our weaknesses. Otherwise, how can we improve something that we do not know?

2. Know how we are supposed to improve. We need a concrete plan. We should know what we must do and below are suggestions on how we can improve.

a. Match your motivation to your personality type. Know who you are. 

b. Start with simple stuff. Master the basics. It is the simple things that make a huge difference.

c. Be patient. We don't get it right the first try. So keep trying. Keep writing.

d. Enjoy the process. If we keep complaining and whining, I doubt if we will learn anything, let alone, improve. So, while we are at it, let's have a good time.

3. Know why we want to improve. The reason why we want to be better will keep us pressing on in spite of everything. 

4. Know when we are supposed to improve. Now. If we continue prolonging it, making excuses why we can't do it now, we will never improve. Remember the law of diminishing intent? The longer we put things on hold, it is highly likely we'll never do it.

I hope you got something from this. I am not forcing these laws on you. Choose what works for you and make it work :) 

-Keeper

/It is about time that this Keeper apply everything she learned xD