Why Motivation Fails but Momentum Works
Motivation is great — at first.
The beginning of any new goal feels exciting. The newness gives you energy. You feel locked in. You tell yourself this time is different.
But after the first few days or weeks, the novelty wears off. Life shows up. Motivation fades. And that’s where most people get stuck.
No amount of motivational David Goggins videos is going to carry you long term (as entertaining as they are 😄).
That’s because motivation isn’t meant to last. Habits are.
Motivation vs. Habits
Motivation is emotional.
Habits are behavioral.
Motivation helps you start. Habits help you continue.
Research typically suggests it takes anywhere from 30 to 60+ days to begin forming a habit, depending on the behavior and the person. But the exact number matters less than this truth:
Habits are built through repetition, not intensity.
You don’t need extreme changes. You need small changes done consistently.
My Own Experience With Momentum
At my heaviest, I was over 100 pounds heavier than I am now.
That weight loss didn’t happen in a year. It happened over about four years.
That averages out to roughly:
25 pounds per year
About ½ a pound per week
Nothing extreme. No crash diets. No unsustainable routines.
Early on, our family dinners looked very different:
Hamburger Helper
Hot dogs
Spaghetti with Texas toast
Sloppy Joes
Over time — slowly — those meals transitioned into:
Chicken, rice, and veggies
Steak, potatoes, and veggies
Salmon, sweet potatoes, and veggies
It didn’t happen overnight. But now? That feels completely normal.
The same goes for soda. Early on, I still craved regular Mountain Dew. Now, a regular soda tastes too sweet because my habits changed. I don’t even miss it.
That’s the power of momentum.
Momentum Is Built Brick by Brick
This past year, I trained 200–250 days — about 4–5 times per week.
There’s no version of me from years ago that could’ve sustained that.
But just like anything else, you train your body and your habits adapt.
The mistake people make is trying to go from zero to 100 and expecting it to be sustainable. That rarely works long term.
Instead, think in levels.
If you currently average:
4,000 steps per day → aim for 5,000
Then 6,000
Then 7,000
Each step is a brick.
We use the phrase “brick by brick” because that’s how meaningful change is built — not from one massive effort, but from small daily decisions stacked on top of each other.
Small Daily Wins Matter
That extra walk to hit your step goal isn’t going to transform your body on its own.
But when you stack:
Extra steps
Protein-forward meals
Consistent training sessions
Adequate sleep
…day after day, week after week, that’s when progress compounds.
This is why building streaks is so powerful. Momentum builds confidence. Confidence builds consistency.
Where Coaching Comes In
This is exactly where our habit scorecard comes into play.
It’s not about perfection.
It’s about awareness and consistency.
And this is also where coaching matters most.
Our coaching isn’t about yelling motivation or hype. It’s about:
Keeping you accountable to daily behaviors
Helping you course-correct when life happens
Making sure small misses don’t turn into full restarts
Sometimes motivation shows up. Most of the time, accountability does the heavy lifting.
And that’s what creates momentum.
Final Thought
If you’re waiting to feel motivated, you’ll always be starting over.
If you focus on building small, sustainable habits — brick by brick — momentum will take you farther than motivation ever could.
That’s how real change happens.