The key difference between persistent and consistent is that Persistent is carrying on a task even in spite of difficulties. Consistent, on the other hand, is regular and unchanging.
Though alike, between the two terms Persistent and Consistent a number of differences can be identified. Persistent and consistent are two attributes that are desirable for all individuals and help a great deal in achieving goals that a person sets for himself. These are also qualities most wanted in leaders and managers to help them lead from the front. However, many people are confused about these two terms and think of persistent and consistent as being synonyms, but it is not so. This highlights that Persistent and Consistent are not the same. There are many differences in being persistent and being consistent, and these will be highlighted in this article.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Persistent
3. What is Consistent
4. Side by Side Comparison – Persistent vs Consistent in Tabular Form
5. Summary
What is Persistent?
Being Persistent is to be able to function in spite of difficult circumstances. Let us look at this quality from the perspective of a leader. Managing men is not as difficult as it seems. However, most managers fail, not because it is difficult but because they do not employ the right approach. Leaders need to set lowest standards of performance that are acceptable to them and must not allow any team member to fall below these standards consistently. Secondly, leaders need to set individual targets for the members based upon their actual competence.
Figure 01: Everyone admired her persistence
Now a rookie cannot be expected to perform at the same level as an experienced worker but every worker can raise his level a little bit all the time to catch up with the rest. For this strategy to succeed, managers need to be persistent. If leaders are persistent, the team knows it has to perform to an expected level. However, being persistent alone is not sufficient. A leader has to be consistent as well.
What is Consistent?
Being Consistent is to regularity in the performance. If we take the same example of the leader, he needs to be consistent and have the same yardstick for all so that a top performer does not get away with a poor performance or treated in a lenient manner. This gives a message to all that they need to perform consistently all the time. Performance management is all about the attitude of a leader, and unless he is both consistent and persistent, he will always get mixed performances from his team members.
Figure 02: His consistent dream was to someday become the SEO of the company
Let us turn our attention to our lives. All of us have dreams in our eyes and set goals for ourselves, but most of us do not know how to achieve these goals. It is only by being both persistent and consistent that we can get to our goals. It takes only small changes in the way we make attempts to achieve our goals to attain great heights in our lives. Experts agree that it is a combination of persistence and consistency and how we implement them in our lives that decides how far we will go in our endeavors.
Goal setting and working to achieve it has to be a way of life and one cannot stop and take rest thinking he has had enough. Yes, one needs to take a break to get recharge but it is single-minded persistence only that takes us near to our goals. Sometimes, people give up when they face an obstacle that they think is surmountable but the fact is that their goal is just behind this seemingly insurmountable wall. The key to success is persistent and consistent. The virtue of consistency shows up when one behaves in the same manner during adversity as he would when the times are good.
What is the Difference Between Persistent and Consistent?
Persistent is the ability to function in spite of difficult circumstances. Consistent is being regular and unchanging in one’s performance. And persistent can take a person to his goal since he does not give up easily if he is persistent in life. Consistency has same standards to life in all stages.
Summary – Persistent vs Consistent
Persistent and Consistent are two behavioral qualities in humans. In order to be a successful person, one should have both these qualities in his life. The difference between persistent and consistent is that Persistent is carrying on a task even in spite of difficulties. Consistent, on the other hand, is regular and unchanging. Therefore, being persistent as well as consistent with one’s goals will help in overcoming the obstacles one faces in life.
Image Courtesy:
1. 800px-thumbnail by U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Tiffini M. Jones. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
2. Students_working_on_class_assignment_in_computer_lab by Michael Surran (Flickr) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
