Knowing. Trying. Repeating. 🟡

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Lately I’ve been thinking about change in terms of three circles.

Not because it’s clever, but because it explains why so many smart, motivated people feel like they’re doing all the right things and still not getting very far.

Circle one: Knowing

This is the biggest circle. Everything you know or think you know: books you’ve read, podcasts you’ve listened to, posts you’ve saved, plans you understand really well. This circle is easy to grow. Read a book. Watch a video. Download an app. Done.

And to be clear, this circle matters. Learning is useful. Exposure helps. Ideas shape decisions. But on its own, it doesn’t change much. It feels productive though, and it’s very easy to sell. New apps, new wearables, new diets, new cookbooks. Fresh information always sounds like progress.

Circle two: Trying

Getting smaller. This is where knowledge turns into action—at least briefly. These are the workouts you’ve tried, the meals you’ve cooked, the routines you’ve experimented with. Trying is new, still shiny, still early. And because it’s new, it’s exciting. Different almost always feels better than familiar.

This is why changing programmes halfway through or jumping on the next new thing is so tempting. Trying isn’t a problem. It’s necessary. Not everything is going to stick but trying something new can also be a distraction from consistency.

Circle three: Repeating

This is the smallest circle. The stuff you do even when motivation’s low and life’s loud. Similar meals. Familiar training. Repeatable routines. The things you do again tomorrow, and the day after that. Week after week. Month after month. Year after year.

This is where results actually come from. Not knowing more. Not constantly trying something new. But repeating a small set of things with just enough intention to keep them honest.

I’m not anti-learning, and I’m not anti-trying. But if most of your time and energy stays stuck in knowing or endlessly cycling through trying, while repeating stays tiny, change will always feel just out of reach.

A couple questions to explore this week:

1. Where are you investing most of your effort right now—knowing, trying, or repeating?
   

2. If nothing new was learned or added for the next three months, what are the few things you could realistically keep doing or improving?

You probably don’t need more information.

You don’t need a better plan.

You likely just need to shrink the gap between what you know, what you try, and what you’re willing to repeat.

Super sexy? Nope.

But it works.

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P.S. If you enjoyed this week's Thursday Three, please share it with a friend.

Thanks,

Jamie