What’s that one habit you know would move your life, work, or business forward but for some reason, you can’t get yourself to start? Maybe it’s going to the gym regularly, reading daily, posting consistently, launching that business, or finally doing that “daily practice” you know would take your performance to the next level.
You know it matters and you genuinely want to get started but you keep planning, waiting for motivation, trying to use willpower to force yourself into action and still don’t follow through. And even when you do, it doesn’t last. Sometimes years or even decades go by with no significant progress.
If that hits close to home, I want to share a strategy that helped me go from zero to “integrated into my lifestyle and expanding” with practically zero stress or willpower (in fact, with quite a bit of enjoyment).
For over a decade, I didn’t do any physical strength training. In fact, I avoided it like the plague. And now, for almost 2 years I have worked out almost every day. I’m on the path towards being in the best shape of my life and I have recently begun integrating those small “annoying” exercises that work on my weak spots: core work, mobility exercises, physical therapy movements. Not only do I do them but I actually like them. And as I think into the future I am even excited to expand my practice and do even more.
Would you like to know what changed?
I stopped thinking in terms of “all-or-nothing” and I started “counting”. A process I call the SEED Strategy for building and compounding momentum.
Just over 18 months ago, I made a commitment to my health.
It wasn’t a grand commitment. I simply decided to do 5 seconds of planking every day for a month. That’s it.
Not a full routine. Not even a minute. Just something I could do anytime no matter how tired, busy, or distracted I was with almost no resistance.
To be honest, the first few times I did feel some resistance. Thoughts like, “This is going to be annoying,” “This won’t make a difference,” and “What’s the point?”
But the commitment was so “micro,” the excuses had nowhere to land. That’s when I planted a seed, a momentum seed.
After those 5 seconds I did something even more important—, I celebrated. Again, nothing flashy. I just took five seconds to reflect on my accomplishment with genuine appreciation, and the next day, I did the same.
You might be thinking, “This is too small to matter,” but just like a seedling needs sunlight, water, and care, I nurtured that seed each day.
Within a week, it felt normal. Not just normal, easy. And when it got too easy, I added 5 more seconds. My seedling had taken root and was sprouting.
Some days I stuck with the baseline. Other days, if I had extra vitality, I added more time and it sprouted further. Either way, I celebrated and I stubbornly refused to discount.
Eventually, I reached 30 seconds. It was easy, but it was getting boring. So I added three squats. Not thirty. Just three.
30 seconds of planking, 3 squats, and a celebration. Roughly 40 seconds a day, and my seedling had sprouted a new branch.
This became the rhythm. Whenever it got too easy or boring, I gently sprouted in whichever direction felt aligned, or I added a branch to my momentum tree.
When first branching out in a new direction, I didn’t let myself make excuses like “I don’t know how,” or “I need to learn more first.” I just worked with what I already knew. Nothing was too small and everything counted.
And yes, sometimes I would do research on how to improve or optimize my routine. But only if:
- My current habit was already stable and rooted, and 2. I had surplus energy to invest.
If I didn’t, I simply repeated the current routine and provided the minimal resources necessary to maintain my current level of growth. No excess effort necessary.
Of course, I missed days here and there, but it didn’t make it mean “I failed” or “My routine is broken.” It just meant I did what I had done for the prior decade: nothing.
All of the progress I made still counted. I could return to my current baseline the next day with ease, and I continued ahead. Would a day or two without rain or sunshine make a significant impact on a tree’s long-term development?
Over time, the ‘minimum’ I could do with ease had surpassed my original goal that had once seemed so insurmountable. I was doing strength training 25-60 minutes per day, with a robust and holistic routine. I had lost 25 pounds, all while increasing muscle mass and strength.
And the momentum that I had built, incrementally over time, was free to be reinvested into other areas of my life: my content creation, my business, my relationships, my ability to deliver excess value to my clients. My momentum tree was bearing fruit and it was abundant!
The paradox is: If I discounted that seed as “too small” to make a difference, I would still be at square zero. I planted a small seed and nurtured it throughout its development. Now, from the fruits of one seed, I’m growing a forest.
Whether you’re building a business, deepening your coaching skills, developing your leadership, or just trying to show up more consistently, the process is the same.
The SEED Strategy:
S – Small Seed Plant the tiniest momentum seed possible, something so easy it’s impossible to excuse yourself.
E – Establish Roots & Sprout Repeat it consistently until it becomes well rooted and count all progress, no matter how small. When it becomes habituated, allow it to sprout by gently scaling it up.
E – Expand Branches Once the seedling is well rooted and sufficiently sprouted, you can ‘branch off’ your current habit in a different direction. Only build upon the current level of growth when you have excess resources to devote to growing it. If not, just nurture its current level of development until you do.
D – Distribute the Fruits Once the habit is well rooted, sprouted, and sufficiently branched out, you can choose to “purposefully plateau” in that area and use the excess resources (and momentum) to grow into other prioritized areas of your life.
Start with the smallest version of what you can do today without resistance. Celebrate every step of the way, no matter how small, repeat it until it becomes automated, and then gently expand into your next level. Let the momentum compound comfortably, and when you’re ready, you can reinvest that overflow into your next area of growth.