25 years of consistency.
I started my first gym membership at 13. I only went to support a friend. Many friends later — I’m the only one who never stopped.
A gym friend asked me recently,
“25 years! How did you do THAT?”
Not willpower.
Not discipline.
Not some superhuman trait.
I told him,
“I gave myself my word that for the rest of my life I’ll move my body for 30 minutes every day. Ideally in the morning.”
He said he’s made similar promises to himself many times.
So what made mine stick?
A) I built an MVP version of my exercise habit for the days I don’t feel like it.
When I don’t want to lift weights, I do yoga.
Or a martial arts workout.
Or mobility drills.
Sometimes I just dance.
He replied,
“I should probably schedule some yoga classes.”
And that’s where most people go wrong.
That’s also where my approach, the one I teach to my 1-1 clients and B2B teams working on performance - is FUNDAMENTALLY different.
B) Make it really easy. And I mean REEEEALLY easy to start.
I do not sign up for more classes.
I saved one yoga video on my phone. And on my Google Drive. A routine I can do in the smallest hotel room - it was handy, 15 years of digital nomad life, mountains, beaches, jungle gyms, remote locations and all.
I also have a workout app I can use anywhere.
That’s how my fitness survived Covid lockdown in a room with 2X2m space.
I lifted weights then too. Sometimes water bottles.
And THAT is the gold you are looking for🍯
The secret to lifelong consistency.
EASY.
And by easy, I mean so easy to start you almost slide into it without thinking.
Can you see the difference between:
“I need to schedule more yoga classes”
And:
“I have a video on my phone”
?
THAT kind of easy.
The kind I’ve done in the dark, naked, barely awake, before a 24-hour flight.
Over to you, dear reader,
Are you sure you tried easy before willpower?
PS: If you lead a team and you’re wondering why people struggle to adopt something new or stay consistent, I can give you a 100% guarantee you haven’t thought through the “easy” part well enough.
The human brain is lazy and defaults to conserving energy. Daniel Pink, who's studied human behavior for the last 30 years, says it’s the #1 factor everyone misses.
Where in your life (or organization) are you still overcomplicating and blaming it on a lack of consistency or the wrong people?
