Have you ever met someone who starts something new, sticks with it for a few weeks or months, and then just quits? Then, a little later, they pick up something else… only to drop it the same way they did the first thing.
Chances are, you’ve done this yourself before — I know I have. It’s a strange cycle we all fall into: getting excited about something new, only to let it fade out just as quickly.
And to be fair, sticking with anything long-term is hard. Motivation runs low, life gets in the way, priorities shift — and suddenly, the thing you were committed to gets left behind.
But that’s exactly why the things we want most are so valuable: because they’re HARD. If achieving your goals were easy, everyone would already have them. The truth is, the reason we want certain things in the first place is because most people DON’T have them.
See the connection? The things worth wanting are usually the hardest to get.
This, in my opinion, is exactly why so many people (especially in America) struggle with their health and body image. If it were easy to be in shape, look good, and feel strong, then everybody would be walking around jacked. But they’re not — because consistency is the difference-maker.
The Myth of Quick Fixes
Most of the time when you hear about “achievements” and “success stories,” it probably took that person — or even yourself — a considerable amount of time to get there. Sure, every once in a while you’ll hear about rapid success or “overnight results,” but those are extreme outliers. It’s basically like winning the lottery.
Quick fixes and overnight success just aren’t reality.
Especially when it comes to your physique. Nobody can just go to the gym for a few weeks and suddenly walk out with a great body. Even if they train perfectly and eat perfectly, they’re not going to see drastic changes in that short of a timeframe.
If you really want the physique you’ve always dreamed of, you need to stick to the fundamentals for years. That doesn’t mean you won’t see progress along the way — you absolutely will. Weekly and monthly improvements will show up. But to achieve something truly great, it takes months and years of consistent effort to bring that vision into reality.
I can almost guarantee you’ve never met someone who has consistently trained and eaten right for years and doesn’t look above average. It’s nearly impossible. If you dedicate yourself for that long, results are inevitable.
The beautiful thing about consistency is this: let’s say you’ve been training hard for some time now, taking your fitness seriously for a few months. You’re starting to look a little better, feel a little better, and then bang — life comes out of nowhere and you’ve got a whole new set of challenges on your plate. Taking a week or two off from the gym is not going to kill your progress at all. Taking some time off will not in the slightest erase all of the work you’ve put in (obviously depending on how much time you take off).
How to Break the Cycle of Starting and Not Finishing
When I analyze myself and others, I see two prominent reasons why we don’t stick with things we initially started.
1. The inability to delay gratification.
We’re all wired for instant gratification. It’s literally just how we’re built as human beings. Throughout history, we’ve survived by seeking short-term rewards like food, water, and shelter. Modern life makes this a hell of a lot harder, as we’re all essentially brainwashed by social media, Netflix, DoorDash, etc. All the dopamine we need to be content in the present is literally one click away.
Couple the way we’re wired with the luxuries of the modern world, and you can probably see why it’s insanely difficult to delay gratification.
2. The “all in or nothing” mentality.
Let’s use going to the gym as an example. Oftentimes when people start their journey to get healthy or build a good physique, they go ALL IN. I’m talking two-hour workouts, counting every calorie to a tee, going on extreme diets, etc. You’re essentially trying to sprint a marathon. And we all know you can’t sprint a marathon.
What I’m really getting at is: be REALISTIC about your expectations. We can’t expect to become a multimillionaire with a hot wife and a six-pack in a few months. It’s just not reality.
Ask anyone you admire how long it took to get the things or attributes they have, and I can almost guarantee their answer will contain the word “years.”
I’m not saying to slack off, half-ass everything, or be a piece of shit. Of course we should all try our best with everything we want to do — that’s not my point. My point is to be realistic about your goals and expectations, especially when starting something new.
We’re all going to have bad days and bad seasons. We’re all going to get smacked around by life a little bit. You can’t have good days without bad days, or else there would just be “days.”
When you inevitably lose motivation, get smacked around by life, or simply have a bad week, just remember: the people you admire and want to be like share these unpleasant experiences with you.
Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t make the gym some days, miss your calories, or have a few drinks. What will separate you from people with the “all in or nothing” mentality is realizing that a few bad days in the span of YEARS means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things.
In regards to your health and fitness (and many other areas of life), consistency is always going to trump intensity (the “all in or nothing” mindset).
Think about it like this:
- Person 1 goes to the gym 12 hours a week, doesn’t slip up on their diet, and goes balls to the wall every session — but only does this for two months.
- Person 2 goes to the gym 8 hours a week, follows 80% of their diet, and trains hard but sustainably — and does this for a year.
Person 2 is going to be miles ahead of Person 1, and it’s not even close.
How Consistency Builds Compounding Results
As you may know, the concept of progressive overload is what builds muscle and gives you tangible progress. But this concept only works if you keep showing up. Your body will only adapt (build muscle) if you consistently apply that stress over time.
If you aren’t consistent, your body won’t recognize the need to adapt, and you’ll be stuck lifting the same weight and looking the same forever.
Even if you don’t feel motivated and you’re having a rough day, it’s still extremely beneficial to do the bare minimum and have a half-assed workout.
Think of it like compound interest. Over time, the small wins continuously add up to big wins. Every workout is like a “deposit” into your fitness account. A single workout doesn’t feel like much — but over time, those deposits create a compounding effect that adds up dramatically.
Just like money in a bank grows with interest over years, consistent effort compounds into noticeable improvements.
How Consistency Alone Will Change Your Life
Eventually, you’ll reach a point where you’ve been consistent for so long that whatever you’ve been doing becomes a habit in your day-to-day life. It won’t require as much willpower or motivation as it did at the start. It’ll essentially become automatic, almost like an addiction.
After a while, just showing up consistently will rewire your brain to expect these actions. It will become a part of your identity and who you are. This right here is the ultimate goal: doing the task that once required motivation and willpower completely on autopilot.
Consistency Is the End-All Be-All
At the end of the day, consistency isn’t flashy. There are no headlines or overnight success stories. But that’s why it’s so powerful. Consistently showing up — day after day, month after month — even when you don’t feel like it, is what separates the people who just talk about results from the people who actually get them.
So stop wasting time looking for shortcuts and finding excuses. Literally just SHOW UP, focus on the fundamentals, and trust the process. Over time, the simple act of CONSISTENCY will take you further than intensity, luck, or talent ever will.
I believe in you all — I hope you enjoyed it.