How Tiny Obstacles Quietly Derail Your Goals

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Arnold Schwarzenegger recently wrote about why habits fail ~ and it has nothing to do with motivation. I summarized his key points and brought them into our world: learning English, staying consistent, and making progress even on bad days.

Here we go..be brave till the end Lol

Most people don’t quit their goals. They slow down, then stall, and eventually get stuck.

It’s rarely dramatic. There’s no big declaration of defeat. Just a quiet erosion — death by a thousand paper cuts — until the “right” choice feels harder than it should.

What most people miss is this: when habits fail, behavior scientists don’t blame motivation. They blame friction.

According to the Fogg Behavior Model, behavior happens only when motivation, ability, and a prompt align. And here’s the trap: motivation can stay high, but if ability drops even slightly — if something feels annoying, inconvenient, or mentally taxing — behavior collapses.

Not because you stopped caring.

Because your system made things harder than they needed to be.

Research on choice architecture shows the same pattern. Tiny inconveniences compound, quietly pushing you toward the default: skip it, delay it, do it tomorrow.

Habits don’t fail because of a lack of desire. They fail because of too many small obstacles that make not doing the right thing easier.

A real system has three traits:

First, it reduces decisions. You shouldn’t have to ask, “What’s next?” or “Where’s my stuff?” If you are, you don’t have a system — you have a guessing game.
Second, it survives bad days. Motivation works when life is smooth. Systems work when you’re tired, rushed, stressed, or behind. If one chaotic day knocks you off track, the system isn’t strong enough yet.
Third, it makes the right choice the default. When the easier option is also the better one, progress happens without discipline or pep talks.

Ask yourself: if tomorrow were messy, loud, and unpredictable, would your habits still happen?

If not, that’s not a character flaw. It’s a sign your environment has too much resistance.

Because when friction disappears, consistency stops feeling heroic and starts feeling automatic.

Systems don’t push you. They carry you — especially on bad days.

That’s what Shane’s PIRF/DDM classes and everything are designed to be ~ in my humble opinion: a structure that removes friction, reduces decision-making, and keeps you moving even when motivation is low.

Not a burst of inspiration.

A system you can rely on — long enough for real change to happen.

I would love to hear your take on this

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