Why 75 Hard Doesn’t Work (and How to Build Real Momentum Instead)

Have you ever started an all-or-nothing challenge like 75 Hard—only to “fail” after missing a single day and lose all motivation? You’re not alone. In this episode of Clear & On Purpose, I share why rigid streak-based challenges don’t work for most people and what to do instead.

I’ll take you inside my own experiences with running streaks, fitness programs, and habit challenges—and show you the sustainable framework I use now, called the Momentum Method. This approach is about progress over perfection, building self-trust, and creating rhythms you can actually stick with.

Whether you’re working on your health, growing your business, or simply trying to live more intentionally, this episode will give you practical tools and mindset shifts to move forward without burning out.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why 75 Hard and other all-or-nothing challenges often fail.
• How rigid streaks reinforce negative self-talk and stall progress.
• The difference between perfection-based challenges vs. flexible, sustainable ones.
• How to use milestones and mini-challenges to stay motivated.
• What the Momentum Method is and how it helps you build long-term habits.

Resources Mentioned:

• Join The Village: Click here to connect with our community.
• Sign up for the Momentum Challenge: Click here to get started.

Resources & Links

• Follow Christina @christinaslaback
• Email us at hello@christinaslaback.com
• www.christinaslaback.com

Transcript

75 Hard

Christina: [00:00:00] And what I've realized after years of experimenting with different things like these streaks and challenges and working with the women that I work with, is that that all or nothing mentality really isn't sustainable in the long term. And here's the problem with it, is that.

They can give you that initial reboot. They can be great in short bursts. I think that challenges and things like this for a shorter timeframe, but.

If you're looking at implementing one of these for a longer term, being able to implement more flexibility, allowing more for tuning into your body, is gonna be much more sustainable. 

Welcome to Clear and On Purpose, the podcast design to help you cut through the noise and get back to what matters most. If you're feeling stuck, but needs to take intentional action, you are in the right place. I'm Christina Slayback, homeschooling mom of two, and life and business coach. [00:01:00] Helping you drop in and align with your values three or space Each week I'll be sharing practical insights and simple actionable steps to help you find clarity, boost your energy, and design a life that balances ambition with.

Let's dive in and get clear on purpose.

Welcome back. Today we're gonna talk about the difference between doing a challenge or a sprint or a streak and creating actionable, sustainable change, and why the all or nothing streak mindset behind challenges like 75 hard and. Completing something every day doesn't always work for most people. And I wanna talk about what we can do instead.

If you want to take that structure of motivation and momentum and be able to use it to implement lasting [00:02:00] change. So this is something that I've been reflecting on a lot lately because honestly. I keep seeing all of these things and it's not 75 Hard is a new concept, but it seems to be coming up a lot more this before the next year kind of mentality, which I think can be used.

Really well, it can be really to be able to kickstart new habits, to be able to start to implement things and try things out that you wouldn't do normally. And to be able to push yourself towards growth and change and implementing those, these lifestyle changes, but also. Having those types of challenges where you're completing something every single day and you have to continue the streak or start all over again, will often lead to.

People either not completing it or if they do complete it burning out. And so then it's [00:03:00] this on or off. So I'm either completely locked in and I'm all in and I'm doing 75 hard or I've stopped doing it, um, whether I finished it or I didn't complete it. And now I'm just gonna go back to the way that I was doing beforehand because I.

You know, didn't continue to streak anyways. And what I've realized after years of experimenting with different things like these streaks and challenges and working with the women that I work with, is that that all or nothing mentality really isn't sustainable in the long term. And here's the problem with it, is that.

They can give you that initial reboot. They can be great in short bursts. I think that challenges and things like this for a shorter timeframe, you know, two, you know, a couple weeks, um, a month, even working at a longer one, but giving a little bit more flexibility. But doing these short intensive sprints can be great for initial reboot, [00:04:00] but.

If you're looking at implementing one of these for a longer term, being able to implement more flexibility, allowing more for tuning into your body, is gonna be much more sustainable. And I know this because I've lived this. So years ago I decided to do a running streak, a minimum of one mile every day.

But my goal was that I wanted to hit three miles most day. It wasn't because I was new to running. I just hadn't been doing it very often recently, and I'd kind of lost motivation. So I wanted to do something that would get me back into running, and I was really solid for a few months. I ran every single day for over three months.

Then we went on vacation and we just had one of those really long kind of exhausting travel days with little kids, and by the time that we got to our destination, it was getting [00:05:00] late. We were having to get everything together and unpack and do all these things, and I just couldn't get out for that run.

I thought at the time like, okay, it's no big deal. Like I'll just go tomorrow, like I'll miss one day. It's not that big of a deal. But what actually happened is that somewhere deep in my, my subconscious, because the streak was broken, my brain kind of just was like, what's the point? And so instead of just missing that one run, I didn't run for the rest of the vacation.

I didn't run for months afterwards at all because the challenge was that I was doing the streak, and so it didn't matter. All of my other motivation for wanting to run, it didn't matter that I really just enjoyed the way that I felt after a run. It didn't matter that I was doing it, you know, for health benefits or for physical benefits, the mental [00:06:00] benefits, none of that was enough to get me going again.

After I had stopped, and it was not even, like I said, it wasn't even on this conscious level that I thought, you know, oh, well, I failed because I didn't continue the streak. I didn't have a set period of time that I was trying to do the streak for. I was just trying to see how far I could go, but because the challenge itself was just a streak, as soon as I stopped, I just stopped because they have it completely.

And that's one of the dangers of these all or nothing goals, is that they reinforce this kind of negative self-talk. Like, oh, I didn't do it any, or I didn't finish it, or I didn't complete it, or I broke the streak, so I'm just not disciplined enough. I, I can't finish it. It doesn't matter anyway. I'm not cut out for this.

And so instead of building this resilience and this self-trust and going at it from. Looking at the overall [00:07:00] impact of what the running was doing for me and all of these other positive attributes, it was actually chipping away at that self-trust. It was chipping away at that level of feeling like I was able to do something that was hard.

And so what works instead? the momentum method is really about progress over perfection. It's about using challenges as fuel, but designing them in a way that's already sustainable. Here's the thing. I do love challenges.

I love the feeling of completing something. I love the feeling of doing hard things. I love the structure, the focus and the energy that it brings. They cut down on any of the decision fatigue. If I know that I am doing something a hundred percent for X amount of time, I know very clearly what that means as to whether I'm making that or I'm not making that.[00:08:00] 

I've done this with Sugar Detox as well. I'm not, you know, I'm not going have any added sugar for for the month and I know very clearly whether or not I've met that and I don't have to think that, sit there and worry about, okay, do I add it in or do I have something now or do I not have something now that's sweet.

And just kind of this back and forth of constantly deciding, I have very clearly stated what the expectation is for me and what that standard is that I'm setting. So I've really clearly. Set the standards. I am not going to have sugar for 30 days and I know that I don't have to worry about thinking about whether I can have a little bit or is it a cheat day or is it okay on, you know, this party or whatever it is.

It's that it's not happening for this long. And so by doing that, you cut down on that decision fatigue. You can build a lot of momentum, but the difference. Is that instead of being these rigid streaks of constant, when you're building [00:09:00] sustainable lifestyle changes, you need to have that built in flexibility.

So working in averages instead of absolutes. So you can think of it as like a sustainable challenge. You're still pushing yourself outside your comfort zone, but you're doing it in a way that fits your life. It supports your nervous system, and it keeps you coming back long after that initial challenge ends.

So I'm gonna give you the flip side of my run and streak stories. A few years ago, I signed up for my first structured like weightlifting program. It was a six week challenge, five days a week, every week, and around week four, I wound up missing the workout that was scheduled for that day, and if this would've been some type of a streak or if this would've been like I had to do it on this specific day.

Then I probably just would not have continued just like I did with the running. But because of the structure of the program and giving that flexibility and knowing that I was just trying to [00:10:00] complete this challenge, I just moved it to a different day. I kept the momentum. I kept going. Because I was able to take that flexibility of not having to do it every single day in order to still reap the benefits.

I'm going two years strong on completing these different programs that have been available and taking breaks and taking time off when I need it, or making those little adjustments to the day to day, but being able to build the sustainable change, and I've been able to. Use it as a framework and be able to use these as little like mini challenges or resets, but building in other opportunities to bring in more.

Things that I enjoy so that it doesn't get stale either, because if you're anything like me, you can do something for so long, but then it starts to lose some of that juiciness, it starts to lose some of that appeal. And so by being able to have different programs that [00:11:00] I'm doing all the time by being able to have the flexibility to take breaks in between or to bring in, you know, doing a Pilates class or a dance class or going for runs.

Having weeks where I just have the week off so I can just kind of recalibrate and, and give my body a break when it needs it. But using this as framework so I don't have to make all those decision. It allows for so much flexibility and it gives me that opportunity to create real sustainable change. And that's the beauty of the momentum method.

So the challenges are still there to keep things interesting, but the flexibility and learning how to trust yourself is what the ultimate goal is in being able to com in being able. To have that lifestyle change. So how do you actually build a challenge that works long term? And I'm gonna talk about this in terms of some wellness things, but this can be applied to any areas of your life.

And when I'm working [00:12:00] with clients, we do look at this as more of kind of a lifestyle rehaul. And that's choosing a focus. So picking one area, whether that's fitness, finances, relationships, personal growth, whatever the area is, and looking at it and setting some clear expectations about what you want to do.

So something specific and doable. You wanna look at it and say, this is what it means. And started off with a bit of that challenge, that little sprint. So for the next two weeks. I am going to have a low spend day or a no spend day for the next two weeks, and I'm going to create that momentum, or I'm gonna average 10,000 steps a day for the next two weeks.

Create a timeframe. Usually anywhere from a couple weeks to about six weeks is really long enough to see some progress, but it's short enough that you can still maintain it and it can still be a little bit [00:13:00] exciting. You don't really get into that big of a slump and you can mo maintain the momentum throughout the whole thing.

So determine what's gonna work for you and look at anywhere from a two to six week timeframe to make this new habit change. And allow for some flexibility in there. So if you miss a day, don't worry about it. Like work on the averages instead of I'm gonna hit a minimum of 10,000 steps a day. Looking at something and saying, okay, is if that doesn't seem doable for me, and if I think that that is going to be too intimidating, if I miss a day, I'm gonna lose momentum.

Then maybe I say, I'm just gonna have an average of 10,000 steps a day. So you know, one day I'm working really late, or I just have a long day and I don't hit it. The next day I can come back and I can just make up some of those steps and be able to keep that average from that 10,000. So look at it in terms of.

What your standard is, of what you wanna have as your goal, and then how can you make that doable? Or if it's five workouts a week or. [00:14:00] Um, whatever the, the, the rule is that you have, see how you can give yourself some flexibility for life to come in, for life to happen and to not throw you off, but to be able to really still have something that's gonna be challenging enough that it will keep that momentum going and will be exciting enough that you will feel great when you acco.

Uh, that when you accomplish it and you complete it, and then at the end of that time. Take a moment to reflect and adapt. Take a moment of downtime to just kind of, if you're continuing the habit, then continue the habit, but don't have that pressure on it. Or take even a little break if it was like a really intense habit, but.

I would say do that for a few days or a week. You don't wanna lose the momentum that you created, but you do wanna give yourself some time to look at what worked with it, how did it feel while you were doing the challenge, and then what can you adapt to make it more sustainable in [00:15:00] the long run, and be able to then take that and build on those additional habits.

So. A lot of times when I'm looking at doing, um, work with client or when we're looking at like a whole personal life trying to improve and make things better, there might be several habits that might wanna happen. There might be several things that we're trying to change, but by focusing on one area or by building.

A couple of little habits on each other for the challenge and then breaking it down saying, okay, what's actually been beneficial? So maybe it's that for the next two weeks you're gonna, um, set a morning routine, you're gonna get up earlier, you're gonna have three things that you do in the morning. Then taking that step and look at, at the end and saying, okay, you know, what were the things that felt good about this?

What are the habits that I wanna continue? What are the things that maybe didn't really hit for me as well? And what do I wanna change and adapt? [00:16:00] And when you're looking at this and applying this, you can apply it anywhere. So you can try a short financial challenge. You can be more intentional with your family.

So trying a connection, challenge, or working on having, um. No screen times or no device times with your family. Um, you can do this to incorporate more fun and excitement into your life, and you can bring these little mini challenges in throughout your life. As things start to feel a little stagnant, if you're starting to feel a little stuck in a certain area and bringing in that structure to be able to create something that's gonna just kind of lift you out of that funk and really be able to help you move forward.

Because momentum creates more momentum and every small win adds up. So instead of burning out of waiting for this next big group reboot, you can live in that alignment every day. And if you've ever felt like you failed a [00:17:00] challenge, I want you to know that you didn't fail. Even when I did the running streak, I ran for three months every single day.

And that's amazing. That was a, that was. That was really an incredible achievement for me and looking at it and seeing the positive and looking at where you've come and the difference between where you were before and what you were able to accomplish is always so much more. Instead of looking at what maybe you didn't do or how far you didn't get.

So the momentum method is really about creating the challenges that fuel your growth, but they also fit your life, and it's about progress over perfection, flexibility over rigidity and momentum over this all or nothing. So thank you for being here. If you stayed through the end, I'm so appreciative to you, and if this resonated with you, I'd love to hear what kind of sustainable challenge you designed for yourself.[00:18:00] 

So let me know and until next time, I appreciate you and I invite you to keep living clear and on purpose. 

Thank you for tuning in to clear and on purpose. If you're ready to take intentional steps toward a more fulfilling life and wanna customize the approach, I'd love to work with you. Visit www.christinaslayback.com to schedule a free consultation or explore current offers designed to help you gain clarity.

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