The psychology of consistency.
Happy Thursday, Reader
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For over a decade, there has been one principle I have lived by that has let me complete any task ahead of me, no matter the resistance, self-sabotage or anxiety I felt.
Not so long ago, near the end of 2025, I felt like my efforts were being wasted in my work - and that invited a whole new wave of self-doubt.
I’m sure you’ve been there before.
When you’re in the process of building anything (even if it’s just yourself) you can’t help but wonder:
“What’s the point of all this?”
The question seems to arrive right in the middle of the tasks you need to do to improve your business, health, or situation in general.
Halfway through a sauna session when the heat was most penetrating...
Midway through a newsletter when the idea was just beginning to take shape (yes, even during this one)...
And when I investigated why that question kept coming up, I realised,
As a founder, it’s not only unrealistic to live in a perpetual state of motivation, but unhealthy.
Nevertheless, the work needs doing.
So what do you do about it?
Thankfully I was taught a principle, that helped me overcome that resistance.
Actually, less of a principle, more of an understanding of what goes on beneath the surface when you are trying to fight resistance.
So I'll break it down for you too.
And once you understand the psychology of consistency, you’ll be able to bypass how you feel now for the sake of your future self and complete the task ahead of you,
because that’s what elite performers can do time and time again.
Plus, I'll equip you with a technique that will save you even on your lowest days.
You’ll be able to fall back on this whenever you feel demotivated or uninspired.
You’ll gain an edge over others by understanding the inner workings of your mind and brain chemistry (based on neuroscience)
and best of all, you’ll be able to move through life without that feeling of guilt you normally carry around, and finally become the version of yourself you said you would be.
So let’s get into it.
The first mental shift
was understanding that consistency is actually a form of self-love, not self-punishment...
The word "discipline" has negative connotations but in reality, it’s the purest form of love.
Every action is a vote for the type of person you’re becoming; it becomes a groove in the new identity you are building.
And so quitting has more consequences than you realise...
Not only do you stop your progress in real time, but you also sabotage the identity that’s required to get to the next level.
I've come to realise, that in order to get to the next level you have to design the identity of the individual that lives there.
And then the work becomes bridging the gap between you and them. The secret is, your mind builds neural pathways through repetition, not intensity.
It's not about fierce visualisation and affirmations.
Force can't get you there, but repetition eventually will.
You must strengthen the neural pathway that says - “I am someone who finishes what they start.”
The more you do this, the higher your self-trust becomes. The higher your self-trust, the more you conviction you hold in your beliefs, and therefore the more the action becomes a default.
The samurai doesn't wake up and decide whether to train today.
He wakes up, and training happens. Not because of discipline. Not because of willpower. But because the identity precedes the decision.
The amateur thinks: "I should train today. I need to build discipline."
The samurai thinks: "I am samurai. Samurai train."
The action is not debated, it's an expression of what already is.
James Clear says that improvements are only temporary until they become part of who you are.
The goal is not to read a book, the goal is to become a reader.
The goal is not to run a marathon, the goal is to become a runner.
The goal is not to learn an instrument, the goal is to become a musician.
Each action is downstream from the decision to embody the identity of who you wish to become. As the evidence builds, the identity strengthens.
And this is your biggest competitive advantage or edge, as consistency compounds, you’re literally reconstructing your inner architecture around a new identity.
That identity is what is needed to bridge the gap between your current circumstances and your desired outcome.
Relying on motivation is a fools game.
Motivation comes in bursts, after we’ve seen a movie, read a book, or heard a quote. (I was literally on a high after watching Marty Supreme)
But it doesn’t last, it’s cheap fuel that burns bright and fast.
However, shifting your focus to the identity you want to build is the mark of wisdom. It’s the trick that elite performers practise.
Kobe Bryant created the identity of the “Black Mamba” which was really just his highest self.
Every time he thought to himself, “What would the black mamba do?” he was shifting his current identity into this new one and letting his actions be decided from there.
Kobe might not want to train at 3am but Black Mamba would.
Being able to first design then think from the mind of your highest identity, creates a quantum thread between you and them.
When you see it as self-love and not punishment, the entire narrative changes.
The task ahead of you isn’t going to change.
The work needs to be complete.
So the best and highest leverage thing you can do, is change the way you approach it. Change how you show up. Change WHO shows up.
It’s not just about “motivation” or “sigma alpha lone wolf grindset” its the fact that your mind is always watching, and monitoring whether you are keeping your promises to yourself, and what the compound effect of that becomes.
Now what are the practical steps to override quitting?
Or what if the task ahead is simply too difficult?
The MVP. Minimum viable practice.
It’s something I teach my clients - you make a MVP version of the task ahead of you, that’s so simple it’s almost stupid.
Instead of 10 pages for a book you’re writing, it’s one sentence.
Instead of 100 pull ups, do 1.
The point isn’t the task, it’s committing to the consistency to change your identity, and make follow through a reflex.
Action creates energy. Inaction depletes it.
This seems backwards because we think we need energy to take action.
But neurologically, it’s reversed: taking action (especially action you resist) activates your reticular activating system (RAS), which increases alertness and energy.
This is why the first rep is the hardest, but by rep 10 you’re in flow. Your mind needs proof that you’re committed before it allocates full resources.
Most people fail because they try to operate from pure willpower (brute force), or pure instinct (inconsistent, avoidant of discomfort, spiritual bypassing) but both alone are incomplete and result in a lack of consistency.
The middle path (the tao/flow) is actually about understanding the neuroscience, so you can work with your brain, not against it, while maintaining the detachment (so you’re not enslaved by it).
People ask me, "doesn’t it become robotic and automated when all you care about is consistency and routines" - but I think they are missing the point.
The psychology of consistency isn’t about being robotic.
It’s about understanding your internal world well enough that you’re no longer controlled by it,
It’s about being able to consciously choose when you want to be consistent and when you want to intentionally break it.
That’s what creates true mastery and thats what elite performers know that most people don’t.
Until Next Time,
Milan
P.S - Here are a few ways I can help you, whenever you're ready:
📝 Apply to work with me 1:1
(Subconscious Reprogramming + 1:1 guidance for founders)
📗 Get the Self-Mastery Playbook
(a Decade of Cheatcodes)
⏯️ Watch my Show on YouTube
(new episodes monthly)
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