Why Don't New Habits Stick? A Life Coach's Answer After Nearly 14 Years of Coaching

About this Podcast

New habits often start strong and fade within a few weeks, and the usual explanation is a lack of willpower. Life coach Tomas Svitorka has spent nearly 14 years testing a different answer with over 600 clients: habits fail when they stay behaviors and stick when they become part of identity. On this episode of The Legacy and Longevity Podcast, host Zach Dancel gets him to lay out the full argument, including a principle listeners can apply right away.

Tomas grew up in a small village in the Czech Republic before moving to the United Kingdom, where he worked a minimum-wage catering job inside an investment bank. A conversation with one of the bank's analysts about a bonus he considered disappointing became the moment that reshaped how Tomas thought about value, effort, and his own potential. That single conversation eventually led him into personal development, then coaching, a path he has now followed for close to a decade and a half.

Over that time, Tomas has worked with over 600 clients across tens of thousands of coaching hours, including first-time entrepreneurs and founders running large companies. The conversation moves through his own background, the frameworks he uses with clients, and the habits he has built into his own life, including ultra-distance running, as a way of testing his own ideas about consistency.

 Why Okay Quietly Becomes A Ceiling   

Tomas describes an "okay zone" that most people settle into without noticing. He compares it to ordering a meal that is just okay, or taking a holiday that turns out just okay. Most people would not choose either experience again, yet many accept "okay" as the standard for their health, relationships, or work simply because it is familiar.

The risk, according to Tomas, is that okay rarely stays still. Left unchecked, standards tend to drift downward rather than staying level. A habit that feels acceptable today can quietly become the new normal, making it harder to notice when things have slipped.

Naming the okay zone is the first step toward changing it. Tomas encourages people to ask a simple question in a few key areas of life: does this actually make me proud, or am I just used to it?

 Consistency Beats Intensity, Every Time   

A recurring theme in the conversation is Tomas's own belief that consistency outperforms intensity. He points to his own experience as an ultra runner, having completed the London to Brighton 100-kilometer race three times, each year finishing faster than the last, not because he trained harder in short bursts, but because he trained consistently over many months.

Tomas contrasts this with what he calls the "grind and cry cycle," where someone commits to an extreme routine, burns out, and has to stop entirely. He suggests finding an intensity level that can be sustained comfortably, then building from there once it becomes normal.

This approach shows up in how Tomas coaches his clients. Rather than chasing a dramatic transformation, he encourages steady, repeatable actions that compound over time, a theme that connects directly to his views on identity.

 Identity Drives Whether A Habit Sticks   

According to Tomas, most people can change a behavior temporarily, but the change rarely lasts unless it becomes part of how they see themselves. Someone who runs for two weeks but does not think of themselves as "a runner" is likely to stop. Someone who has built enough evidence of consistent behavior over time starts to believe it is simply who they are.

This is why Tomas focuses so much of his coaching on identity rather than short-term habit installation. He describes helping clients notice their own patterns of self-description, then build small, repeated proof points that support a new identity rather than reinforce an old one.

Zach connects this idea to his own life, describing how consistent daily habits, like training and spending time with family, have shaped how he sees himself over time.

 Words Shape Mindset Before They Shape Results   

Tomas and Zach also discuss the role of daily self-talk. Zach shares that he begins his mornings with spoken affirmations before starting his day. Tomas compares this practice to taking antibiotics: the effect is not immediate, but it compounds with consistent use.

Tomas explains that the brain defaults toward caution and negativity as a survival mechanism, which means a more constructive mindset often has to be chosen deliberately. He describes previously publishing his own goals publicly, framing each one around easily achieving the outcome rather than struggling toward it, a small wording choice he believes shaped how achievable each goal felt.

 Raising Your Minimum Acceptable Standard   

Later in the conversation, Tomas introduces what he calls the MAS principle, short for Minimum Acceptable Standard. He explains that many people fall short of their goals not because the goal itself is too big, but because the standard for their daily behavior is too low.

Rather than chasing a dramatic new goal, Tomas recommends raising the floor of what is acceptable in one or two specific areas. He uses gym attendance as an example, setting a personal minimum of three visits a week, with anything less treated as unacceptable for himself.

Zach reinforces this idea by connecting it to the mountain-climbing analogy used earlier in the conversation. Progress happens step by step, and raising a minimum standard, even slightly, is often the first step that builds toward larger, sustained change.

The full breakdown of the MAS principle, including how Tomas applies it to his own week, is in the episode itself. Watch the full conversation on The Legacy and Longevity Podcast YouTube channel.

Why Sudden Change Requires Time To Adapt  

Tomas also raises a point about how people handle sudden shifts in circumstance. He references a statistic often cited about lottery winners: the majority end up with less money within a few years of winning, not because the money itself was the problem, but because their habits and mindset had not developed to manage it.

He compares this to how mountaineers acclimatize before reaching a summit, moving gradually between camps rather than climbing straight to the top. Tomas applies the same idea to personal growth. When someone changes too much too quickly, in fitness, income, or relationships, the change is harder to sustain because the rest of their life, and the people around them, have not had time to adjust alongside it.

This is part of why Tomas continues to emphasize gradual, sustainable progress over dramatic transformation. A new standard is easier to maintain once it has had time to become normal, both for the person making the change and for the environment around them.

 Frequently Asked Questions   

 What is the "okay zone" that Tomas Svitorka describes?   

The okay zone refers to accepting an average or tolerable outcome in an area of life, such as health, relationships, or work, simply because it feels familiar rather than because it reflects a person's actual standard for themselves. Tomas describes it as a place most people settle into gradually, often without noticing.

 Why does Tomas Svitorka believe consistency matters more than intensity?   

Tomas has found that extreme effort is difficult to sustain and often leads to burnout, while a consistent, repeatable pace compounds over time and is more likely to produce lasting results. He points to his own ultra-running progress, built through steady training rather than short, intense pushes, as one example.

 What is the MAS principle?   

MAS stands for Minimum Acceptable Standard. It is the idea that raising the floor of daily behavior, even slightly, tends to create more lasting change than chasing a single large goal. Tomas applies this to his own habits, such as setting a personal minimum for gym attendance each week.

 How does identity affect whether a new habit lasts?   

According to Tomas, a behavior is more likely to stick once someone has enough repeated evidence to see it as part of who they are, rather than something they are simply trying to do. He works with clients on this identity shift directly, rather than focusing on the habit alone.

Listen to the full conversation with Tomas Svitorka on The Legacy and Longevity Podcast to hear the complete discussion on consistency, identity, and raising your personal standards.

Personal growth is not only mental. Your energy, focus, and ability to stay consistent are also shaped by your underlying health. Nava Health helps you build the physical foundation that supports the mindset work covered in this episode. Learn more at navacenter.com.

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