The Pareto Principle states that 80% of the outcome comes from 20% of all potential causes.
You can consider this concept in many different ways.
But in my world, the vast majority of the “success” a person has comes from a very small set of variables they can change in their life.
In other words, most people focus on way too much of the big picture and ignore the seemingly small things that will actually get them where they want to go.
Some examples:
- The effort you give on the very last set of each exercise of your workout often leads to the most adaptation. Just a few more reps or a little more weight adds up to an enormous amount of progress over the year.
- The extra snack or calories you consume out of habit is that extra layer around your midsection you just can’t ever seem to get rid of.
- Skipping that one workout every week that you say you’re going to do, but never do, is 52 missed days of attendance a year
- The extra 30 minutes of sleep you’d give yourself if you left your phone in the other room when you went to bed is better recovery, better hormone balance, better mood and better overall feelings of well being.
But these are often ignored for the giant rocks and pendulous changes instead.
Here’s the context for this email today:
What you do over the next 4 weeks has the ability to make the most amount of impact on your growth as a person. Yes for this year, but most importantly for the decades to come.
Do you sprint your way to the finish, taking the opportunities you have to get in as many workouts as you can, even though the couch, netflix and holiday parties are calling?
Or do you succumb to the darkness of December and sacrifice 10% of your year because of a few things that make this a hard month for fitness?
Here’s some clarity on the objective that has worked well for lots of people in the past:
You have 4 weeks. You should intentionally move 3x/week.
Therefore you need to get 12 workouts in the next 4 weeks to accomplish your goal.
Getting those 12 workouts in December is the “little thing” that will make all the difference.
You can do them in the next 2 weeks or you can do them over 4 weeks. I don’t really care.
If you’re already doing that, great. You’re already in the minority, keep kicking ass.
If you’re not, now you know what to do.
See you in the gym.
