The Law of Sustainment: Or, Why You Can’t Change Your Life Overnight (Even If Instagram Says You Can) (#301)
Let’s chat about personal growth—the kind that makes you want to buy a fancy journal, drink weird smoothies, and wake up at 4:30 a.m. to greet the sunrise like a mystical productivity monk. It’s inspiring... for about three days. Then life happens. You hit snooze, the smoothie gets wasted down in the fridge, and the journal becomes a coaster.
Enter the ninja of personal development: The Law of Sustainment. It’s not as glamorous as a “30-day glow-up challenge,” social media seems to brag about but it’s way more effective (and doesn’t require giving up bread). I love bread!!!
What Is the Law of Sustainment?
The Law of Sustainment says this: Personal growth isn’t about how much you can change at once. Baby steps. It’s about what you can keep doing, day after day, without spontaneously combusting. Please don't go postal. Is that a thing anymore?
It’s the grown-up version of “slow and steady wins the race,” except instead of a tortoise and a hare, it’s your current self racing against the hyper-optimized version of you that exists only in your imagination and on Facebook.
Why We All Start Like Superheroes (and Then Crash Like Humans)
We’ve all had that moment. You decide you’re going to “get your life together.” You make a list that includes meditating, journaling, walking five miles, flossing (finally), and learning a new language. You crush Day One. Day Two is decent. By Day Five, you're emotionally eating ice cream at midnight, wondering what happened.
What happened? You violated the Law of Sustainment. You tried to build a new life on the back of temporary motivation. Motivation is like cotton candy—fun for a moment, but it vanishes fast and leaves a sticky mess.
Start Small, Stay Sane
The Law of Sustainment is all about small habits that don’t make you want to fake your own disappearance after a week. Meditate for two minutes. Walk around the block. Celebrate these small wins like you just climbed the biggest mountain.
Eventually, these small efforts snowball. You’re not trying to impress anyone with how much you can do. You’re playing the long game. Sustainable habits build a solid foundation—and don’t leave you crying in your beer. In my opinion, beer is gross.
Build a Life You Don’t Need to Escape From
Sustainability also means setting up your life in a way that makes the good stuff easy. Leave your yoga mat out. Hide your phone in another room so you don’t accidentally scroll into next Thursday. Future You will be very grateful—and possibly more flexible.
Personal development doesn’t have to be dramatic. You don’t need to reinvent yourself every Monday. Don't be afraid to fail. The Law of Sustainment says it’s okay to grow slowly, as long as you keep going. Let consistency, not chaos, be your strategy.
Conclusion
Next time you feel the urge to change your entire life overnight, remember: sustainability is the new way. This is the way! And no one ever burned out from brushing their teeth every day (probably).
Now go drink your water. And keep going.