consistency

May

2021

How To Know If a Person is Sincere

Reading Time: 3 minutes

You will meet a lot of people in your life. Some will have a deep and long-lasting relationship with you while others will simply come and go. Most of them will be nice at first but only a few will remain with you in this journey called life. Sadly, there will be some who will only be nice in the beginning. Once they are already comfortable, or worse if they get what they want from you; then, you will notice the change in their behavior. Actually, there was really no change. What you thought was a change of attitude is actually showing their true selves. What you saw at first was only their person a. That is the reason why to avoid getting hurt, it helps if you have the ability to figure out a person’s true self early into the relationship. But the real challenge is how to know if a person is sincere?

You don’t lose friends, because real friends can never be lost. You lose people masquerading as friends, and you’re better for it.
– Mandy Hale

1. Actions Speak Louder Than Words

The first thing to do is to observe the person. Sometimes people tend to say one thing yet do another. If a person is sending mixed signals, then rather than their words, it is best to listen to their actions instead. After all, it is easier to lie with words. Actions are different. It is difficult to sustain an action without sincerity. By observing a person’s actions, it will be easy to figure out whether that person is being sincere or not.

2. Consistency Over Time

Consistency is sincerity. In a relationship, consistency means commitment. It means doing things on a regular basis even for a long time. If a person treat you the same way he/she treats you from the very first time you met that person, then that is a clear sign that the person is sincere.

3. Eyes Are The Windows to the Soul

In many cultures, giving eye contact is a form of respect. It also shows sincerity and honesty. In this modern world, it is so common to see people looking at their cellular phones even in the middle of conversations. Showing respect to another person is giving them your full and undivided attention.

To know if a person is being sincere, look into their eyes. The eyes will reflect a person’s true emotional state. You will know a person’s true feelings towards you because the truth is reflected in a person’s eyes.

4.Giving Without Expecting Anything in Return

Many people do things or favors to others but expect to benefit each time. If you encounter such persons, then be aware that these kinds of persons just want to benefit from the relationship. They might not express it right away but if you sense that they are keeping mental tabs, it is a sign that you should be cautious around such persons.

A sincere person will gladly help or do something for you without expecting anything in return. The true art of giving should not have any strings attached.

5. Treating Everyone Fairly and Equally

Do you notice some people who are extra nice to people who are wealthy or in power? Those kinds of people are your typical examples of hypocritical people. If you know such persons, it is best to stay away from them. A genuine person will treat everyone fairly and equally regardless of race, gender, social status, religion and age.

But always remember if you want to be treated sincerely by other people; you must begin with yourself first. If you treat others sincerely, you will attract the same kind of people in your life for you are the average of five persons you spend the most time with.

Feature Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels

May

2020

Challenge Yourself to Show Up

Reading Time: 3 minutes

We all admire successful people. Read the life story of any man or woman you consider successful, and you will see that they all went through hardships in life. These personal struggles served as their motivation for success.

Successful people also share one trait that enabled them to overcome these struggles. They never gave up on their dreams of bettering their life and they showed it through their consistency. They consistently showed up to spend time and effort on their dream; and in the end, their efforts paid off.

Eighty percent of success is showing up.
— Woody Allen

All the greats in their fields have this trait. They show up to practice their craft even when they don’t feel like it. When there are obstacles in their path, they find a way to still do what they need to do. Finally, they get the opportunity to show off their skills and steadily, their talents and achievements gain acknowledgement.

The Show Up Challenge

Take up the same challenge for yourself. Do the Show Up Challenge by following this steps:

Pick a skill that you have neglected for a while or something new that you want to learn. Prepare everything that you need to start learning or practicing.
Make a daily schedule where you will spend at least an hour to focus on learning or practicing.
Do this for at least 30 days without missing a day. If you do miss a day, then make up for it by doubling the duration the next day.

The goal of this challenge is to encourage you to discipline yourself to be consistent in your habits. This also helps you develop a mindset for success. Even if you are just staring at a blank document on your computer screen, or a blank paper, because you can’t come up with anything to write about or draw, it’s okay. The point is to show up and to be there for the process, for the practice, for the learning.

Showing up is essential. Showing up consistently is powerful. Showing up consistently with a positive outlook is even more powerful.
— Jeff Olson

You may need to use an alarm to remind you of your schedule and that’s okay. You may need to force yourself to do it everyday by positive self-talk and that’s alright. Just do it and keep on doing it. Use your creativity to make the activity more fun and rewarding but don’t slack off. Show up consistently to do the work that needs to be done so you can succeed in your goal.

When you show up for yourself you can show up for the world more completely.
— Gabby Bernstein

Practice Makes Perfect

Success is like an iceberg. What we see is just the tip. We only see what great and successful people have already achieved. We often do not see the many struggles they had to endure to get to where they are. They spent many hours to learn and practice their craft. In short, even before they were certain that they could get to perform; they were already rehearsing.

We are all familiar with the saying, “practice makes perfect”. It sounds simple but it takes an extraordinary amount of practice to master one’s craft and perfect it.

It’s simply not enough to just show up and do your work. Superior performance is not, never has been, nor will it ever be, the by-product of ordinary efforts.
— Gary Ryan

Being successful in your field is not a matter of having innate talent either. Many talented people remain unrecognized for their talents because they did not hone it. Many people who did not have the talent, but who were willing to learn and put effort into honing their skills, have become successful in their fields.

Sometimes the bravest and most important thing you can do is just to show up.
— Brene Brown

It takes a lot of self-discipline to be successful in anything. Just like you, all the “greats” started with baby steps. The important thing is; they did not hesitate to take the first step and they kept moving forward.

Take up this challenge. Start with a small goal and keep showing up until you feel ready to take on the next step.

Feature Image: Original Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels