What if consistency wasn’t about trying harder?
This episode came from a very real place. I’m recording it from Brazil, a month into a year of travel, with my once-solid routines completely blown up. And it reminded me of something I teach all the time, but still needed to relearn the hard way.
The people we admire for being “consistent” aren’t stronger, more disciplined, or better humans. They’re living in environments that quietly support the behaviour they want.
In this episode, we talk about:
Why willpower is unreliable, especially when you’re tired or stressed
What research actually shows about self-control and temptation
How your environment shapes your habits more than motivation ever will
Why discipline is a backup generator, not a long-term strategy
How to redesign your setup so consistency becomes easier, not harder
This isn’t about fixing yourself. It’s about noticing what’s working against you, and changing that instead.
An experiment for this week
Pick one habit you’ve been struggling with and ask:
What’s one thing in my environment making this harder than it needs to be?
Not your mindset. Not your motivation. Your setup.
Make one small tweak and see what changes.
Next week, we’ll talk about why “starting over” keeps failing, and what a real reset actually looks like.
If this resonated, feel free to share it with someone who’s been beating themselves up about consistency lately. And if you’re not subscribed to Unwritten Potential yet, you can do that right here on Substack.
Much love,
Noemie x
