#324 Will you ever write that book?

Most habits are hard to stick to because they promise not only a positive lifestyle change but also instant results.

But worrying about building a habit and getting results at the same time leads to frustration and, ultimately, failure – after all, when building a habit, showing up every day is already hard enough.

First, you must learn to trust that you can show up every day, even if you don’t see improvement right away.

Only then do you get a shot at getting results.

The key is in the power of tiny actions, consistently taken.

With how (online) education and teaching are done nowadays, most people give up long before they get real results. Let’s fix that with this counterintuitive 3-step approach to skill-building: 👇

1️⃣ Step 1: Intent Builder.

Before you start, you must light a fire under yourself.

Why is this important to you?

What do you stand to gain?

Also (especially), what do you stand to lose?

(❗️I guarantee that at some point, you’ll forget what you’re doing it all for. So make your Intent strong and remind yourself every day; otherwise, you’ll always let life get in the way.)

2️⃣ Step 2: Trust Builder.

In the first 14-21 days, there’s only one thing that matters:

Can you prove to yourself that your Intent is strong enough to show up and take action daily?

Or are you derailed by the slightest setback or the lack of quick results?

Most people don’t have that trust in themselves yet. So you must build it up by taking small, daily actions completely decoupled from “quick wins” (I call them Tiny Trust Builders).

This is counterintuitive because people crave instant results, which means most course creators try to build them in their programs.

But the harsh truth is, only when you can show up without getting instant results are you ready to get real results.

3️⃣ Step 3: Skill Builder.

Once you’ve built the trust that you’ll show up, you can focus on skills, progress, and results. Here are two valuable mechanisms that take you from Trust-Building to Skill-Building:

👉 Make things a little harder every day or week
👉 Implement feedback loops: ask for coach feedback, talk about what you’re doing, show your work,…

Bottom line:

Learning something new is easier if you’re already in the habit of showing up every day.

It’s also easier to get through a bad day if you’re already in the habit of showing up every day – after all, you know that tomorrow, you’ll be there to take action again.

Make your habits easy to stick to by making them tiny.

Make your habits tiny to make it easy to build self-trust.

Make your habits part of your identity, so that you’re not scared to answer the following question anymore:

Did you do it or not?

You usually make a plan in a moment of motivation and clear thinking, where everything seems possible.

But you’ll have to execute the plan in a variety of situations, including harsh conditions.

Remember this: difficult moments pass, just like easy moments.

Every moment passes, but your plans and dreams will still be there.

Don’t negotiate yourself out of your dreams based on a difficult moment.