On December 22, 2023, I stood on top of a peak I’d been eyeing for years — a brutal 3,300-foot climb over 3.5 miles. Exhausted, and hungry, but exhilarated, I felt like I’d conquered more than just the mountain.
Why? Because a month earlier, I was lying on a gurney, while a surgeon cut into my leg to remove veins that had stopped working.
Up until that point, I wasn’t just sidelined by my busted veins. I’d failed to stick with anything: exercise, writing, and the goals that once fueled me.
But now? I’ve run nearly every week this year, reignited my writing habit, and — more importantly — I feel like I’m finally winning the battle with consistency.
What changed? And how can you get this same momentum in your own life?
Let me walk you through it.
1. Build Consistency, Not Intensity
Have you ever set an ambitious goal, felt an initial rush of excitement, and pushed yourself to the limit — only to burn out and quit soon after?
Don’t be hard on yourself about it, this happens to all of us.
But remember: accomplishing big things is a marathon, not a sprint.
Real progress comes from something much less glamorous — consistency. Instead of pouring all your energy into short, intense bursts, focus on the level of effort you can sustain over the long haul.
That’s how you win.
Think of tree roots slowly cracking a concrete sidewalk. Try smashing the pavement with a wooden board, and you’ll break the board before the concrete gives.
But when a tree consistently pushes its roots just a little bit over time, it eventually splits the sidewalk wide open.
Your efforts are like those tree roots. And your goals? They’re the concrete. The trick to stick with slow, steady growth. That’s how you build momentum.
Shortly after summiting that peak, I came across the book Training For the Uphill Athlete. One of the authors, Kilian Jornet, famously climbed Mount Everest in 26 hours — without supplemental oxygen.
While some of his ability is genetic, his secret is something we can all apply. He, and other elite athletes like him, focus on doing more low-intensity work, staying consistent over time.
I adopted this mindset into my own running. For the first time, running became enjoyable again because I kept my pace easy enough to make it sustainable.
In January, I was running 12-minute miles. Now, I’m down to 9 ½-minute miles and still building momentum.
If you want lasting results, shift your focus to doing lots of low-intensity work.
It’s not the intensity that will get you there; it’s your ability to keep showing up.
2. Find and Use Your Strengths
The easiest way to keep your effort low enough that you can stay consistent and build momentum is to play to your strengths.
When you lean into what’s naturally easy for you — what others might find hard — you’ll succeed faster and enjoy the process a lot more. This is the power of leverage.
To figure out your strengths, start by examining these three areas:
- Genetics: What traits did you inherit from your parents that help you succeed?
- Upbringing: What did your family and friends teach you growing up that gives you an edge?
- Experiences: What past jobs or hobbies did you love, and what skills made you good at them?
You might even try asking those closest to you what they think you excel at — you’ll probably be surprised by what they see. I did this a few years ago, and it gave me insight I hadn’t considered before.
Take running, for example. I watched my dad run growing up, and he loved it, so I decided to give it a shot. Turns out, I loved it too.
Not only that, but I recently found out through an update to an Ancestry DNA test that my body is genetically wired for endurance sports.
The combination of learning from my dad, having the right genes, and reading the right books has turned running into something fun and sustainable for me.
It’s a strength I can rely on, and because of that, I’ve been able to build momentum without burning out.
When you lean into what you’re naturally good at, you remove the resistance. The journey becomes easier, more enjoyable, and something you can sustain over time.
3. Work on Your Mindset Every Day
Most people misunderstand how improving your mindset works.
It’s easy to get stuck in the trap of saying mantras or watching motivational videos to pump yourself up. But in the end, these never lead to sustainable growth.
To improve your mindset you need to get out of your own head and get the help of people smarter than you.
You’ve probably heard the Jim Rohn quote: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
Most people panic when they hear this, thinking they’re stuck because they don’t have anyone extraordinary around to help them level up.
But that’s the wrong way to approach it.
The five people influencing your life don’t have to be physically present. You can absorb the mindset of anyone you admire simply by immersing yourself in their books, podcasts, or videos.
A few years ago, I stumbled upon an author and coach named Jen Sincero. Her ability to shatter limiting beliefs about money blew my mind.
I devoured one of her books in a single day and since then, I’ve listened to it at least 20 more times.
Her insights helped me overhaul my money mindset, and as a result, I doubled my income in just two years. Four years later, I had tripled it. Now, I’m aiming to 5x my income, and her methods are still fueling that growth.
The thing about mindset is that you can’t fix it with the mindset that created the problem in the first place.
You need someone else’s perspective to break through your mental walls. That’s why it’s so powerful to find a book, podcast, or YouTube video that lights a fire in you and play it on repeat until it rewires your thinking.
This approach is crucial for building momentum because it gets you through those tough days when you feel like quitting.
Whenever I hit a wall, I kept Sincero’s words playing in the background, and they always reignited my drive to keep pushing.
And that consistency is what helped me build the momentum I have today.
All You Need to Know
Momentum is powerful because it gives you confidence that you’ll win. To get it:
- Focus on building a habit of low-intensity work so you can stay consistent
- Find your strengths and use them to make your efforts easier, more fun, and more effective
- Work on your mindset every day by taking on mentors and consuming their content often
This article was written by Luke Rowley, a Goal Engineer. Get his free 5-day email course to learn the 4–4–4 goal-setting system so you can stick to your goals all year long: https://bit.ly/3f8bhyR