Why Your Growth Isn’t Sticking

Let’s be honest, having a breakthrough moment feels incredible.

You finally see something clearly for the first time. Maybe you gained insights from a book or podcast. Maybe you scheduled sessions with a coach or took part in a leadership development program. You feel energized and ready to do things differently.

But often - after a few days or weeks - you find yourself slipping back into old routines.

What happened?

Your brain is programmed to keep you safe, not to help you evolve.  It will always default to what it knows, even if what it knows is keeping you stuck. The tug of the familiar is so strong.

Today, I will share one of the most common and overlooked reasons personal growth fades. After coaching hundreds of high-performing corporate leaders and professionals for over a decade,  I’ll show you how to stop spinning in circles and start locking in the changes you’ve worked so hard to make.

How to reinforce change

According to Dr. Joe Dispenza, your brain is a record of the past. Unless you actively give it new information and new experiences to work with, it will continue predicting your future using the patterns of your past. 

This means that even if you want to change, your mental programming will automatically pull you toward what it already knows. This is why personal growth fades when it isn't reinforced. A decision to grow is important, but it won't hold its power without repetition, reflection, and intention. Without reinforcement, your old identity quietly takes back control. And you may not even notice right away.

One of my clients, a highly accomplished global finance executive, came to me after being passed over for a promotion. She was discouraged, but also determined to grow.

From the very start, she committed fully to the coaching process. Together, we clarified her bold, meaningful goals, the future she wanted to create, and her future self - the leader she needed to become to succeed at the next level.

One powerful exercise we used was role-playing how she would show up in meetings with colleagues and clients as that future self. This mental rehearsal didn’t just build her confidence, it rewired her brain. By practicing her elevated presence in a safe, intentional way, she was creating new neural pathways, new programming that she could naturally step into at work.

When she called to share that she had been promoted, I was thrilled. But what she valued most wasn’t just the new title - it was that she had changed her mind. She had stepped into the leader she was always capable of being.

What happens if you ignore reinforcing change?

Let's face it - daily life gets in the way and you get busy. Maybe you started skipping your morning routine. Or you stopped reviewing your goals or visualizing the future you want. 

Then one day, you look up and realize you’re back on autopilot, running on old patterns you thought you’d outgrown.

Some common signs you’re not reinforcing the change might include:

• You feel like you’re “starting over” every few weeks
• You get frustrated that you know what to do, but keep falling back into habits that don’t align
• You forget how much progress you’ve already made
• You start doubting yourself, wondering if maybe you just “aren’t consistent”

How to build reinforcement into your life

You might think you need to try harder but that can leave you exhausted. The truth is you need to make it easier to stay on track.

That means building simple systems that make your growth part of your identity, not just something you “try to remember.” And these systems don’t need to be complicated; they just need to be consistent. Building in systems will help you stay aligned with your goals and not pulled into what's comfortable and familiar.

Simple systems you can start using this week:

• Schedule a weekly 30 minute strategy session with yourself to review your goals and priorities for the week head in detail, instead of jumping into Monday without a strategy.
• Check in weekly with a coach, accountability partner or a trusted friend to ensure you're taking action on what you say you're going to do. According to the Association for Talent Development, you’re 65% more likely to reach a goal if you share it with someone. That jumps to 95% with regular check-ins.
• Take 10-15 minutes every morning before your day gets started to align with your goals and the future you want. I also recommend including a 5-minute visualization where you vividly imagine your Future Self from your goals achieved, with emotion. Your subconscious mind accepts these images as real.

 Consistency is mother of mastery

Little steps taken daily and consistently will make a big difference over time.  And you'll accelerate your progress when you reinforce change mentally and by taking consistent action.

As Robin Sharma once said, "Consistency is the mother of mastery."

Whatever it looks like for you, the real work isn’t in the decision, it’s in the reinforcement. One day, you'll wake up and you'll be a different person. That's the power of reinforcement.

Momentum is everything. Let’s create your plan to sustain it. Schedule your omplimentary strategy consultation available now.