Why building positive habits feels SO hard (and how to make it easier).
How are those New Years resolutions going?
We’re well into February now. If your January health intentions have fallen by the wayside and you’re watching people around you train for marathons, Hyrox, or doing daily Reformer classes while the idea of starting a simple stretching routine feels huge… you are not alone.
It’s not because you’re lazy, and (hear me out) you don’t just need to try harder.
The mental load is real
Starting anything new brings an increase in mental load.
Finding the right time, clothes, clearing the mental space, wondering if you’ll keep up or whether you’ll commit (and feel worse if you don’t).
That’s not laziness, it’s decision fatigue.
I see it all the time with new starters. People who’ve wanted to begin for months, but had to navigate a staggering amount of life admin to book the first session. When your days are full of responsibility and problem solving, adding another thing you’re supposed to do “properly” can feel exhausting.
The myth of “ready”
We live in a culture that’s obsessed with self-optimisation, where we’re constantly fed images of glossy, energetic lifestyles. If your reality involves long hours at a desk or in the car, stress, stiffness, or fatigue, that ideal can feel impossibly far away.
So we tell ourselves: I’ll start when things are calmer / when I’ve sorted my sleep / when I’m fitter.
But this isn’t how behaviour change works. As James Clear (Atomic Habits) puts it: “Too often, we convince ourselves that massive success requires massive action.” In reality, “the difference a tiny improvement can make over time is astounding” and (this is major) “motivation is often the result of action, not the cause of it.”
So although it might feel like you need drastic measures and loads of motivation, the best way to build and sustain a new habit is actually just to start, and start SMALL.
Fear of failing
But what if I’m not very good? Can’t keep up? Need to skip bits?
Take this as permission to be a beginner, and to embrace not knowing.
Procrastination temporarily protects us from the discomfort of being a beginner, but just as small actions can compound positively, avoidance compounds too, making starting feel bigger, heavier, and more personal over time.
Why not start with my online programme MoveSmart designed specifically for busy, desk bound people. I have worked with so many beginners over the last 10+ years that I built this assuming you’re starting from scratch. Really, the first session includes just three simple movements.
Each session moves you in a balanced way, and there’s repetition built in, so even if you don’t complete them all in order, doing most of the sessions, will still leave you feeling SO much better than sitting stuck at your desk thinking about it. And with a year of access, you can revisit any session, any time.
Break the cycle
I promise MoveSmart wasn’t created for people who already have it figured out, or people with more time than you. It was created for you:
Short sessions (< 20 mins, 3× per week)
Built for beginners
Live support when you need it
Permission to repeat, skip, stop, or revisit later
A calm, drip-fed structure that works with your nervous system, not against it
You don’t need to “get back into shape” first. You don’t need to adopt a new identity. You can start small, today.
There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re busy and human, and other approaches have simply asked for too much, too soon.