The Skyscraper Analogy: Strengthening Foundations for Long-Term Success

Why does lasting change feel impossible?

Two common pitfalls in behavior change are 1) changing too much too fast, and 2) not having a tangible plan to go from goal setting to goal achieving. 

Anything good takes time.

The challenge in achieving greatness is keeping the momentum alive long enough that your actions create than man or woman that creates the vision.

A directive to develop unshakable confidence

Temper your excitement to a simmering anticipation, and an almost flow-like state.

A confident but quiet fuck yeah.

I would rather see you being deliberate and enduring with your actions, but progressing at a slightly slower pace, than to see you temporarily winning but flying by the seat of your pants.

Think of your progress like building a skyscraper.

Each day, you get to decide whether to strengthen its foundation or add another floor. When both aspects improve, you're constructing a skyscraper that reaches the heights of your dreams.

Here's the catch: you can build floors as high as you want, but if you neglect the foundation, the entire structure risks collapse.

It's why crash dieting, buying 6 weeks of PT, and new year's resolutions don't work out.

The two types of change

Raising the floor means you're prepared and confident to set a new standard for your daily habits, exercise, and nutrition. It's about establishing a solid base for long-term success.

On the other hand, raising the ceiling involves short-term efforts or adjustments, like pushing yourself a little harder during a workout or tweaking your diet for a specific goal. Both are crucial for building a skyscraper of success, but without a sturdy foundation, even the tallest towers will crumble.

Examples of raising the floor:

• Increasing your low-to-moderate exercise from 3 to 5 days per week.
• Adding protein to another meal to bring up your daily protein intake.
• Starting a breathwork practice.
• Establishing a new bedtime routine.
• Swapping alcohol for a healthier beverage.
• Committing to a process of healthier self-talk.
• Scheduling your workouts at the start of the week.

Examples of raising the ceiling:

• Walking an extra 60 mins today.
• Following a 2 week aggressive diet.
• Eliminating coffee, alcohol, or sugar.
• Testing your 1 rep maximum or V02 Max. 

Once you have established a new floor, the idea is to not dip below that level. With our walking example, you now walk 5 days per week (the floor) but not always for 60 mins (the ceiling).

Bottom Line

If you can consistently raise the floor of your habits and actions, then you will arrive at that vista of your ideal future before you know it.

Ask yourself two questions:

(1) Why am I ready to make this change?

(2) Am I at least a 4 out of 5 on the confidence scale that I can stick to the change long-term?

Those two answers should give you the felt sense of if it's the right move, and whether you need to re-think the change.

If you're enrolled in Kickstart, then keep kicking ass and exceed the program's minimal viable execution, but make sure it's not at the expense of building shaky foundations.

Aim to build the tallest skyscraper that lasts the test of time. The only way that happens is with a solid floor.

None of this "I used to be xyz...".

Do it once and keep it.