“Going through the motions” is often seen as a negative thing—a sign of boredom or minimal effort. But when it comes to exercise and nutrition, this mindset can actually be helpful to adopt. Once you’ve built a solid foundation of healthy habits, 90% of what you do will feel like just going through the motions—and that’s exactly the point.
For those trying to improve their health and well-being, there’s an initial period of effort and learning. Building new habits requires focus, discipline, and patience. You’ll need to figure out what works for you—whether it’s learning effective resistance training techniques or adjusting your diet to prioritise whole, minimally processed foods. These steps take time, and in the beginning, they can feel challenging and effortful.
However, the real magic happens when these practices become second nature. Once resistance training 2-3 times per week, completing some form of cardio 1-2 times weekly, eating a diet made up of 80% minimally processed foods, and getting 7-8 hours of sleep most nights become your default setting, maintaining your health no longer requires constant mental effort. The vast majority of health benefits will come through these habits. These actions shift from feeling deliberate to becoming part of your routine—just like brushing your teeth or making your morning coffee.
You’ve got to ask yourself: What am I doing this for? Is it for fun, excitement, or novelty? Or is it for the benefits—improved lifespan, better quality of life, and feeling more comfortable in your own body?
While some people may find aspects of exercise enjoyable, for many, it’s not about the enjoyment in the moment—it’s about the positive effects on your body and mind afterward. We often remember a workout as being more enjoyable than it actually felt at the time. Our minds have a way of misremembering discomfort, helping us focus on the positive outcomes instead.
You don’t need to love exercise, but if you want to lead a long and active life, you do need to engage with it. You don’t have to enjoy every meal you eat, but if you want to stay healthy and feel your best, you need to be mindful of what you’re putting into your body.
Better health isn’t about chasing the next challenge, jumping on the latest diet trend, or constantly seeking variety. It’s about accepting that progress often comes from embracing the mundane—the routines that feel repetitive and even a little boring at times. The real reward lies in improved strength and fitness, increased energy, and the ability to lead an active lifestyle out with the gym—and that requires consistency as much as effort. You may have to endure a bit of the mundane, but the goal is to build sustainable habits that deliver lasting benefits—without overwhelming your life.
Once your core habits require less mental and physical energy, you’ll find yourself with more capacity to pursue other interests, hobbies, or personal challenges.
At Thrive, we believe exercise and nutrition should complement your life—not consume it. That’s why we believe in the power of going through the motion.
Of course, variety can help keep things interesting—you might tweak your programme or experiment with new recipes—but constantly chasing the latest workout trend or diet fad often does more harm than good. Shiny object syndrome—jumping from one new approach to the next—can disrupt the solid habits you’ve worked hard to build. In most cases, these trends offer little more than distraction, while consistency is what delivers results.
In the end, success in health and well-being isn’t about pushing yourself to the limit every session or reinventing your routine every few weeks. It’s about mastering the basics, embedding them into your lifestyle, and then just going through the motions because when those motions are built on good habits, they’ll serve you well for months, years, and even decades to come.