Stop Stopping

Yesterday I shared a simple mantra I’m using to be more consistent on the little things in my life that I know are important.

(In case you missed it, you can check that out here.)

Two of my favorite questions I like to ask myself and my clients are “What would this look like if it were easy?” and “What’s the 80/20 here?”

Hat tip to Tim Ferriss on those ones. (In case you don’t know, the 80/20 rule describes the 20% of activities that produce 80% of the results. And, we wanna focus more of our efforts on those guys!)

Well, sure enough, I was thinking about the 80/20 of consistency itself and found the answer while reading a book by my mentor Jason Goldberg called Prison Break.

In it, JG was talking about the 10 000-hour rule (the now widely-accepted gateway to mastery) and how it can seem pretty daunting when you’re just getting started. I, like Jason, prefer to take a different approach by forgetting about the destination non-attachment style and focusing instead on just getting some time in today, and then the next day, and the next, and…

He then shared this awesome little piece of gold from Dusan Djukich in his book Straight Line Leadership, in which he simply says: “Stop Stopping.”

How awesome is that?

Instead of stressing about how we’re ever going to reach our goals or master a new habit, what if we simply did our best to stop stopping, “Don’t Break the Streak”-style?

This idea was echoed by James Clear in his book Atomic Habits, in which he says: “It doesn’t matter how successful or unsuccessful you are right now. What matters is whether your habits are putting you on the path toward success. You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results.”

Uh, that might be one of my favorite lines of all time. And, those habits develop a lot faster with consistency. Which happens a lot easier when you stop stopping.

(Side note: One of the added benefits of reading a book per week is that you are exposed to way more awesome ideas!)

That’s my invitation for you today. What can you add or remove from your day to ensure that you stop stopping? Make your habits a non-negotiable (just for today), put your consistency on autopilot, and watch those 10 000 hours fly by.