How to ACTUALLY Start a Habit

Let’s say you want to start working out at home:

• 3 workouts / week

• 30 minutes each

What Most People Do

Most people will think in the short-run. You’re excited about the new project, so you start the week strong with a 30-minute workout on Monday. Awesome. But then get sore for a couple days, Thursday ends up super busy, and all of a sudden you find yourself out of time to hit your goal of 3x/week. So naturally, you give up.

How much did that one workout on Monday do for you?

My Approach: Make it EASY

Let’s zoom out, and think about the long-run for a moment. 5 years from now, will you care how long this Monday’s workout is? No. But you’ll care a lot whether you’ve been working out 3x/week for the last 5 years!

When I want to start a new habit — no matter what it is — I focus on the habit first. And I’ll let it so easy that I KNOW I can succeed.

For our example here, try committing to the 3x/week, even if a “workout” is only one minute. ONE MINUTE! Maybe Monday you’ll get 5 minutes in, Wednesday a full 30, and Friday just squeeze one set in between work calls. Awesome, that’s 3 wins! You’re well on your way.

Invisible Obstacles

In the first approach, you might get tripped up by surprising soreness, a schedule change, or a bad night of sleep. The beauty of focusing on the habit first is that it will teach you to overcome the obstacles you don’t anticipate. Life is gonna throw so much at you, but you’ll be ready because you have a low enough bar to step over.

Habits Over Heroics

Start with the habit. Build consistency. Let it grow with time. No heroism needed.

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