Be Persistent and Consistent

We know that to be smart in this world is an advantage. One can either inherit intelligence from one’s ancestors or one can build their smarts through education and life experiences. Being smart requires persistence and consistency in the pursuit of knowledge, skills, and achievements. I am definitely a lifetime learner and I am persistent in my pursuit of more knowledge about my ancestors and their lives in the past. The one thing that I need to improve on is my consistency! Often I will be like the magpie in search of the next bright shiny object without regard for following up on the last one I found. For this month of January 2022, I have put in place some prompts and markers for becoming more consistent. I have learned from my peers and mentors that to be consistent, I need to focus, set goals and change my thinking to remain productive and optimistic. I liked this statement from Wikihow.

Consistency is a great characteristic to build and implement in your life. The key to consistency is setting and achieving specific goals. Start by determining how you want to be more consistent in your life, and aim for these small goals. Over time, as you become more consistent, keep yourself motivated and accountable. This may require some change in thinking so that you stay optimistic and productive throughout the process. https://www.wikihow.com/Be-Consistent

My focus for January has been to provide daily Tips for Genealogists and Storytellers in my Live Casts. This project is guided by Sarah Cordiner in the #30days30tips Challenge. You can find all of the Live Casts on my YouTubeChannel. I have included one of these below on How to become a smart genealogist – my tips on how I prepare for Genealogy. Another project to remain consistent with my ancestral storytelling is to participate in challenges like the #52Ancestors52Weeks challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. My schedule and diary now display reminders for me to post my weekly blog articles on each weekly theme, consistently. Here is my Week 3 post on the theme of ‘Favourite Photo‘.

F.O.C.U.S.

5 Tips for a Smart Genealogist

Here are my top 5 tips for being persistent and consistent as a Genealogist!

1. Find your Genealogy goal for the month – write it on a post-it note or in your journal, schedule time in your week to focus on the goal, look for prompts within your Genealogy networks
2. Open a checklist – include the tasks that you can do on a regular basis to a) fine-tune your Genealogy research; b) plan and plot your ancestral stories
3. Create a plan to leave a Family History legacy for your descendants – keep a record of your research discoveries in hard copy or digital transcripts
4. Uncover the hidden gems of your ancestor’s lives – revisit the records you already have, then ‘tell their stories’ – share in a blog or write a book
5. Strive for consistent thinking and strategic research – stand like a rock on the 5 Principles of Family History Research 

I have now added all Week 3 Live Casts into this FREE course at my Preserving Family History Essential Genealogist : Genealogy Research and Storytelling Tips 2022