Real change only happens when the pain of doing something new is less than the pain of avoiding the new thing. I was talking to my buddy, Dave, after our 178th Coquitlam Crunch today and we spoke about the discipline and work that we’ve put into fitness, good eating habits, and our social-emotional wellbeing. It comes down to the fact that habits are easier to maintain than motivation, and showing up matters more than any other factor.

It sounds so cliche, but the most important workout is the one you don’t want to do… but still do. It’s a scheduled workout day and you have zero motivation… do a workout anyway. Your gas tank is empty and you can’t imagine doing your workout routine… go to the gym anyway and do a 20 minute walk in the treadmill.

Probably more than 50% of the times that you drag your ass to the gym, not wanting to go, you’ll end up doing more than you expected you would do. But guess what? The other times when you don’t do more, when you just barely do the minimum… these are the workouts that really matter. You showed up! You kept the habit going. You made the next attempt to go to the gym easier. “If I can get to the gym feeling the way I did yesterday, I can definitely get to the gym today!”

“My advice,” Dave said, “would be just show up for the first 100 days. Don’t expect to see changes, don’t even look in the mirror. The first 100 days are about making workouts something you never miss, or monitoring calories and developing good eating habits.”

Essentially, the first 100 days are really hard, and they matter the most. I said that, ‘Real change only happens when the pain of doing something new is less than the pain of avoiding the new thing.’ Whatever your new habit is, reduce the pain of doing it by making the desired goal mandatory.

You want to go to the gym 5 days a week? For the first 100 days there are no excuses, nothing is allowed to make you miss. You went away for the weekend and didn’t work out? You go to the gym every day from Monday to Friday. Exhausted and don’t want to go to the gym on Thursday? Too bad, you already missed the weekend, and attendance is non-negotiable.

Will that Thursday workout be a good one? Probably not. But it will likely be more than you thought you had in you, and it was the most important workout of the week. You got there. You kept the streak going. You aren’t someone who skips out, you don’t make excuses, you maintain your habits. You are a regular who would rather feel the pain of a workout than the pain of letting yourself down.

Just show up for the first 100 days. After the habit is established, then you can look at losses and gains. Then you can reduce fat, add muscle, increase flexibility or endurance… or just feel good about yourself because you have developed a great habit that you find easier and easier to maintain.

100 days.