Happy Hanukkah! 🕎 Merry Christmas! 🎄 Wishing you a joyous and peaceful holiday season! ✨
✨ How much more can you achieve in 2025? ✨ TheHabit Mastery Workshop starts 1/17/25—the ultimate ROI gift for you! 🎁 Use “HMASTERY50” for 50% OFF (Limited Time). Don’t wait—transform your habits now! 🚀
“It’s the space between the notes that makes the music.” ~Debussy
Debunking the Myth of ‘1% Better Every Day’
The idea of getting 1% better every day has been popularized by books, influencers, and motivational speakers for more than thirty years.
I recall Tony Robbins preaching the message back in the late '80s. More recently, another bestselling habit book has taken Tony’s mantra to new levels of cliché-dom.
On the surface, “1% Better Every Day” sounds fantastic, and it’s certainly aspirational.
After all, it represents consistent, steady improvement over time—day in, day out. What could be more motivational than that?
It seems like the perfect recipe for day-to-day self-improvement, right?
1% better every day.
Unfortunately, the reality is very different.
Learning any new skill, building any new habit, or improving in any meaningful way is a process filled with starts, stops, gradual and sometimes rapid progress, as well as regression.
Whether it’s surfing, golf, chess, or anything else you can name, the journey is rarely linear—the same goes for developing good habits.
All growth requires space—rest and silence.
After all, muscles don’t grow while you’re lifting the weights; they grow when you’re resting.
So, while the message of “1% Better Every Day” is well-meaning, it’s also a myth.
Improvement is never linear.
Credit: The “Success” meme
Ever heard the phrase “two steps forward, one step back”?
Sometimes, it may be three or even ten steps back.
“Don’t break the streak,” “Never miss two days,” “It takes 21 days to build a habit,” and “1% Better Every Day” all fall into the same silly cliché bucket when it comes to personal improvement and habit development.
And all miss the crucial idea that rest, recovery, space, and silence should be part of anyone’s growth and new skill and habit development plan.
These foundational insights are just the beginning of what we’ll dive into during the upcoming Habit Mastery Workshop—where we’ll bust common myths and equip you with proven strategies to master your habits.
Remember, consistency over time. Give yourself grace and space to grow.
Enjoy the show!
~mg
P.S.: Are you looking for personal, one-on-one coaching? ** » Private Coaching Accelerator: Apply Here! **
P.P.S.: Feel free to reply to this email with any questions about the programs
New subscribers:
Message me here (@ substack) if you want The Habit Factor’s free habits-to-goals tracking template.
P.A.R.R. » Plan. Act. Record and Reassess. (You are not a rodent* ; )
*If you don’t understand the ‘rodent’ reference, it’s related to the famed “Habit Loop” and “Cue, Routine, and Reward” (C.R.R.), which unfortunately overemphasizes a limited theory on the science of habit development because it’s based upon the study of rodents. Humans (YOU) possess choice, intention, and reflection; rodents do not. Thus, P.A.R.R. (Plan, Act, Record, and Reassess) is a much better process for intentional, human habit development. (Published in The Habit Factor® (2010).
What are the chances you have a friend or family member who could use a little H2G in their life?
Share this post
“The 1% Better Everyday” Myth
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The Thursday Thread
Happy Hanukkah! 🕎 Merry Christmas! 🎄 Wishing you a joyous and peaceful holiday season! ✨
✨ How much more can you achieve in 2025? ✨ The Habit Mastery Workshop starts 1/17/25—the ultimate ROI gift for you! 🎁 Use “HMASTERY50” for 50% OFF (Limited Time). Don’t wait—transform your habits now! 🚀
Debunking the Myth of ‘1% Better Every Day’
The idea of getting 1% better every day has been popularized by books, influencers, and motivational speakers for more than thirty years.
I recall Tony Robbins preaching the message back in the late '80s. More recently, another bestselling habit book has taken Tony’s mantra to new levels of cliché-dom.
On the surface, “1% Better Every Day” sounds fantastic, and it’s certainly aspirational.
After all, it represents consistent, steady improvement over time—day in, day out. What could be more motivational than that?
It seems like the perfect recipe for day-to-day self-improvement, right?
1% better every day.
Unfortunately, the reality is very different.
Learning any new skill, building any new habit, or improving in any meaningful way is a process filled with starts, stops, gradual and sometimes rapid progress, as well as regression.
Whether it’s surfing, golf, chess, or anything else you can name, the journey is rarely linear—the same goes for developing good habits.
All growth requires space—rest and silence.
After all, muscles don’t grow while you’re lifting the weights; they grow when you’re resting.
So, while the message of “1% Better Every Day” is well-meaning, it’s also a myth.
Credit: The “Success” meme
Ever heard the phrase “two steps forward, one step back”?
Sometimes, it may be three or even ten steps back.
“Don’t break the streak,” “Never miss two days,” “It takes 21 days to build a habit,” and “1% Better Every Day” all fall into the same silly cliché bucket when it comes to personal improvement and habit development.
And all miss the crucial idea that rest, recovery, space, and silence should be part of anyone’s growth and new skill and habit development plan.
These foundational insights are just the beginning of what we’ll dive into during the upcoming Habit Mastery Workshop—where we’ll bust common myths and equip you with proven strategies to master your habits.
Share
Remember, consistency over time. Give yourself grace and space to grow.
Enjoy the show!
~mg
P.S.: Are you looking for personal, one-on-one coaching?
** » Private Coaching Accelerator: Apply Here! **
P.P.S.: Feel free to reply to this email with any questions about the programs
New subscribers:
Message me here (@ substack) if you want The Habit Factor’s free habits-to-goals tracking template.
P.A.R.R. » Plan. Act. Record and Reassess. (You are not a rodent* ; )
*If you don’t understand the ‘rodent’ reference, it’s related to the famed “Habit Loop” and “Cue, Routine, and Reward” (C.R.R.), which unfortunately overemphasizes a limited theory on the science of habit development because it’s based upon the study of rodents. Humans (YOU) possess choice, intention, and reflection; rodents do not. Thus, P.A.R.R. (Plan, Act, Record, and Reassess) is a much better process for intentional, human habit development. (Published in The Habit Factor® (2010).
What are the chances you have a friend or family member who could use a little H2G in their life?
Share
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