Effort + consistency + time.

There’s a simple formula that underpins every transformation I’ve ever made, every comeback I’ve clawed my way through, and every win that didn’t look like a win at the start. Effort + consistency + time. That’s it. Not genetics. Not fancy supplements. Not waiting for “motivation.” The equation is purposefully unsexy - basically the opposite of anything that goes viral on TikTok - but it works so reliably it’s almost offensive.

Most of us overcomplicate it. We look for the hack, the shortcut, the one secret the pros don’t want you to know. You can burn a week watching YouTube videos and Instagram reels promising six-week miracles, but here’s the facts: the people who actually change their lives are the ones who show up often enough and long enough that the process becomes part of who they are. According to James Clear, in Atomic Habits, behaviours that are repeated become identities - you cast a vote for the person you want to become every time you show up, no matter how small the effort is. That’s consistency in a nutshell. Motivation fades. Identity beats it every single day.

Let’s break the formula down, because each piece matters.

Effort is what you control today. Right now. It’s the reps you grind out even when you slept like trash. It’s choosing to cook something half-decent instead of inhaling whatever’s easiest. It’s going for a walk instead of collapsing on the couch. Effort is personal. It adapts. For some people, effort is a 10km run. For others, effort is a slow five-minute shuffle around the block. Both count. But for it to count it needs to be a solid effort. When you realise you’ve been half-arsing it without meaning to. Don’t cheat yourself. You think you’re giving solid effort, and then one day you push a little harder - add a kilo, run an extra minute, hold the plank past the point your brain starts swearing - and it hits you: I had more in me this whole time. It’s clarity. A quiet reminder that your ceiling isn’t where you thought it was. And once you’ve seen that extra gear, it’s hard to unsee it. You start reaching for it more often, almost out of principle.

Consistency is where most people fall apart. One hard workout? Easy. One healthy meal? Simple. Three days in a row? Still fine. But three weeks? Three months? That’s where the wheels usually fall off. Humans aren’t built for long-term thinking, especially when results aren’t instant. We’re basically goldfish with subscriptions. But consistency doesn’t mean flawless streaks or monk-level discipline. It just means showing up more often than you don’t. It means recalibrating instead of quitting. A study in the Behavioral Scientist found that people who built simple, regular routines - not unreasonable ones - were far more likely to stick with behaviour change over the long term. The keyword there is “simple.” Simple survives real life.

And then there’s time. The ingredient every success story quietly owes everything to. Time is where the compound interest kicks in - small efforts stacked, tiny improvements layered, little promises kept. You don’t notice the changes at first. Then one day you catch yourself in the mirror and think, “Hang on… something’s happening”. Or you’re halfway up a hill you used to hate and realise you aren’t dying anymore. Time is the multiplier. But it only pays off if you stay in the game long enough.

This formula works for everything. Fitness. Careers. Skills. Relationships. Finding your feet after hitting rock bottom. You put in the effort you can manage today. You keep showing up. You do it long enough that the graph finally bends upward. It’s not glamorous, but it woks.

If you’re starting from zero - or crawling out of a slump - start crazy small. Five push-ups. A two-minute walk. Swapping one snack for something that doesn’t make your blood sugar tap dance. Tiny moves done consistently beat massive moves done once. You’re building momentum, not chasing perfection. Check out the bite-sized chunks section for more on that.

And if you fall off? Get back on, but quickly. No guilt. No mental flogging. One step forward after a setback is worth a thousand “I’ll start again Mondays”.

Effort. Consistency. Time. That’s the whole framework. Use it ruthlessly and life starts feeling like something you can shape with your own hands.

Where to start?

If you’re ready to stop chasing hacks and start building the version of yourself you keep thinking about, this is where it begins. One small effort today. Another tomorrow. Stack them, repeat them, let time do what it does best. That’s Discipline Rewired. Start now - before your brain talks you out of it again. Effort + consistency + time.