Mental toughness isn't about forcing a perfect plan. It's about being adaptable. When you're low on time or energy, do a shorter or easier version of your habit. This "bend but don't break" approach prevents you from quitting altogether, making you more resilient and consistent long-term.

Contrary to 'positive thinking,' this method involves identifying everything that could go wrong for each step required to succeed. By proactively creating solutions for these risks, you significantly increase your overall probability of success and de-risk your goals.

Top performers make mistakes, but they get back on track immediately. The 'Never Miss Twice' rule provides a mental framework that allows for a single failure but demands an immediate return to the habit. This prevents one bad day from spiraling into a long-term break in consistency.

Systems—repeatable processes that save time, energy, and stress—are more reliable than willpower, which fades. Instead of just setting goals, build systems that make achieving them the default outcome, even when motivation is low.

The true test of a habit is not your performance on days you feel motivated, but your ability to show up on days you don't. These difficult days, where you do even a minimal version of the habit, are more crucial for building long-term resilience and identity than your peak performance days.

Instead of waiting for a postmortem after failing, conduct a 'premortem' at the start. Proactively contemplating the specific obstacles that might prevent you from achieving your goals is a critical first step. This pessimistic-sounding exercise allows you to identify barriers like impulsivity or laziness and design solutions for them.

Instead of aiming for perfect daily consistency, which is fragile, adopt the rule of "never miss two days in a row." A single missed day is an error, but two missed days marks the beginning of a new, negative habit. This approach builds resilience and combats all-or-nothing thinking.

The decision to exercise is often a daily debate that drains willpower. By pre-committing to exercising every day, you eliminate the "if" and change the mental conversation to a simple logistical question of "when." This reframing makes consistency far more achievable.

Instead of aiming for peak performance, establish a baseline habit you can stick to even on bad days—when you're tired, busy, or unmotivated. This builds a floor for consistency, which is more important than occasional heroic efforts. Progress comes from what you do when it's hard.