EPISODE 020 | APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY

As we are in the first month of the year, this is often the time when we hear the collective chorus of resolutions, when hope is fresh and aspirations are sky high. It’s that magical moment we all know so well, when we tell ourselves, “This year will be different.”

But let’s be honest—how often have these words truly heralded transformation? For many of us, this declaration is the first step on a familiar path. We start with a vision brimming with potential, only for the gritty realities of life to cloud that clarity. The job that demands too much, the unforeseen crises that drain our energy, the everyday tasks that nibble away at our time—these are the thieves of our grand plans.

Then comes the inner critic, the voice that whispers, “Who are you to think you can change?” Doubt creeps in, and the cycle begins: high hopes give way to life’s interruptions, self-doubt sets in, and before we know it, we can be somewhat caught in the undertow of a little bit of unhealthy self-sabotage.

But here’s the burning question, the one that this episode is devoted to unravelling: How do we break free from this cycle? How do we move beyond the wishful thinking of “this year will be different” to actually living it out? What does it truly take to embody the change we seek and turn it into our reality?

In today’s episode we’re exploring consistency—the quiet power behind any lasting change. We’ll look at how to start small, stay steady, and rise above the noise of life. Because the secret to a transformative year, or indeed a transformative life, isn't in grand gestures but in the daily choices that become our stepping stones to greatness …

Now, let's look at the philosophy of consistency. It’s a term we’re all familiar with, but its depth is often overlooked in the pursuit of overnight success stories that flood our feeds and skew our expectations.

Consistency is not just a practice; it’s a mindset—a philosophy that champions regularity over randomness, steadiness over speed. Yet, it’s a concept that’s often barricaded by psychological barriers. The fear of change is a powerful force, paralysing us from taking the first step. Fear of failure looms large, whispering tales of public embarrassment and self-reproach.

But what if I told you that these fears are rooted in a myth? A myth that monumental leaps are the only way to progress. It's time we debunk this myth and shine a light on the truth: that the mightiest of oaks grow from the smallest of acorns.

What small step can I commit to today?

This is a simple example we can all relate to, bringing exercise back into our lives again. It’s the simple, small daily steps that lead to monumental change. You may not feel like heading out for a long walk or run in the winter rain, and you may not notice significant impacts on your overall health after a singular run, but a weekly consistent schedule will lead to monumental changes in your health. One of my main goals for last year, was to incorporate regular exercise into my week, a mixture of cardio, resistance training and yoga, and in their separate parts, after the mini dopamine hit had faded they weren’t anything significant, but over the course of the whole of last year, the difference in my general fitness and overall health, has been quite significant, mostly in terms of my energy levels and sleep patterns. It hasn’t been solely down to exercise alone, but these daily additions, have played a key part to how I feel today.

This type of example leads to transformation, not by one single, huge leap, but by the power of daily and weekly commitment. They embrace the philosophy of consistency, understanding that small steps, repeated, are not small at all.

Looking at consistency, it’s important to note that it is not the scale of our singular and one-off actions that shapes our results, but it’s the repetition. It’s definitely not about being perfect; it’s about being persistent.

As you listen to this episode, reflect on the change that you would love to make and see happen, and ask yourself: What small step can I commit to today? What can I do that will help to lead me to something much bigger that I have been looking to achieve for a while.

The 2% rule

The 2% rule for incremental growth is a concept that's as simple as it’s powerful. It’s about finding those small, manageable improvements we can make every single day. These aren’t the colossal overhauls that disrupt our lives; rather, they're the tiny tweaks, the micro-adjustments that we can weave seamlessly into our daily routines.

Now, you might be thinking, "What can 2% really do for me?" Well, let’s demystify this. Two percent might seem minuscule in isolation, but it’s not about the instant impact; it’s about cumulative effect. Just as compound interest grows a financial investment over time, compound actions build our personal investments in habits, skills, and dreams.

So, how do we put this into practice?

Start by identifying areas in your life where you want to see change. It might be your health, your work, your relationships, or your personal development.

Here’s a practical tip: Break down your larger goal into the smallest possible action. If you want to sleep better perhaps your first 2% win is replacing one cup of an afternoon coffee with water. If it's financial health you're after, maybe it's saving an extra percent of your profits each month. For relationships, it could be as simple as sending a heartfelt message to a loved one each week. And for your business, it could be creating a schedule that helps you to block a weekly period of learning time, to help increase your productivity.

Something that I have implemented on a weekly basis and you are listening to this episode as a direct result is our weekly podcast episodes. Back in 2023, I committed to myself and my team, and to you, that I would produce – together with my team – a podcast episode every single week, without fail. It didn’t matter how busy I became, how my workload might change week to week, every single week, I made a promise and a commitment that I would ensure we as a company released a new podcast episode, of high quality, one that would make an impact and genuinely help everyone who listens.

We have big goals and ambitions for our podcast, and after one episode, we of course didn’t reach those bigger goals, but every single weekly episode leads to those audacious goals. One of them was to comfortably sit within the top 10% of global podcasts, and each week, each of those episodes worked towards us achieving exactly that. Today, because of my and my team’s weekly commitment, our podcast sits within the top 5% of all global podcasts, and because of these consistent actions, I have been able to increase our goal, which I know will have hugely positive impacts on our business and in turn the help and support that we can extend to you. This is all possible, simply from committing to small, weekly consistent steps.

Now, it’s not always easy, there are definitely times where I wish I hadn’t committed to a weekly episode, but actually when I get stuck back into the steps to create each one, I love the process and I love sharing each episode. And as a whole, our podcast is having a dramatic impact, which massively helps to think about when any form of slight procrastination starts to creep in.

And as these 2% wins stack up, you’ll find yourself not just reaching but surpassing your goals. The transformation won't be overnight, but it will be sustainable. And one day, you’ll look back in amazement at just how far those little steps have taken you.

I would love you to take a moment to reflect on your daily routines. What's one 2% win you can start today? How can you make this small win a regular part of your life?

Next, we’re moving onto actualising our aspirations, through the power of visualisation. Not just thinking about your goals, but seeing them, feeling them, living them in your mind’s eye, it’s the next step to helping you move towards your goals.

Visualisation

Visualisation isn't just about idle daydreams or wishful thinking, or sitting back and simply expecting that strong visuals become a reality without any action; instead, it's a genuinely helpful tool that can cement our intentions and help us to understand, set and work towards our goals.

Going back to my example of our weekly podcasts and when the inevitable procrastination appears, I find that visualisation helps hugely, both short term and long term. In the short term, if I imagine how I feel once a new episode is finished, uploaded and scheduled, and how it helps everyone listening. And the long term, the visualisation I have when we reach the goals we have set ourselves. What that feels like, what it looks like, and what it means for our business and for all our listeners. These are very clear goals that we can see and imagine clearly.

Let’s bring this back to you, imagine for a moment the vivid memories of an incredible holiday, one of your favourite adventures – think about the climate, the scenery around you, the fragrance, the sounds and the noise that filled the air. These memories are so tangible, so clear, that you can almost transport yourself back to that place, that time. This visceral recall is the essence of effective visualisation.

Now, let’s channel that same vividness into visualising our goals. It’s about painting a detailed picture in our mind’s eye—a picture so lucid and vibrant that it feels within reach.

Let's try an exercise together. Close your eyes, if you can, and take a deep breath. Envision one goal you’re striving towards. See yourself achieving it. What are you wearing? Who’s around you? What sounds do you hear? How does it feel in that moment of triumph? Let the emotions fill you—pride, joy, relief. Hold onto this image, sharpen it, colour it with details until it feels real.

Now, gently open your eyes. How did that feel? This clarity is not just motivational; it's a compass. It can guide your actions, ensuring they align with the future you so vividly see.

Visualisation works because it primes our brain to grasp the reality of our dreams. Neuroscientists have found that the same regions of the brain are activated when we visualise an action and when we actually perform it. By visualising our success, we’re laying the neural groundwork for it to manifest.

And this clarity you’ve achieved? It becomes your roadmap. When your vision is clear, the decisions you make and the steps you take contain purpose. They're targeted, they're meaningful, and they're taking you one step closer to where you want to be.

Effective visualisation is not a one-off exercise. Just as we commit to those 2% wins, we must commit to regular visualisation. It’s a practice to be nurtured, a skill to be honed.

As you go about your day, your week, your year, revisit this vivid image of your success. Let it evolve as you do, and let it guide you through the choices and challenges you face.

ACTION

Now, let's shift our focus to a mantra that is as profound as it is simple and this is picking up from episode 019, where I shared a somewhat cliché, but powerful mantra: "Today is the first day of the rest of my life." This phrase, so full of promise and potential, encourages us to view each day as a fresh start, a new chapter waiting to be written with purpose and intent.

In this moment, consider the irreplaceable currency of our lives: time. While money is a resource that ebbs and flows,   . Once spent, it's gone forever. This realisation brings an urgency, a fervent whisper to not just dream, but to do; to not just plan but to act.

Think about it—every second that ticks by is a moment we can never reclaim. How often do we trade this precious commodity for things that don't serve our ultimate goals? How frequently do we postpone our dreams, telling ourselves "someday" or "when the time is right"?

But the truth is, the time will never be more right than it is now. If we are to truly honour the value of our time, we must start by prioritising it, cherishing it, and investing in the goals that matter most to us.

Let's talk about investment, but not of the financial kind. Investing time in ourselves, our passions, and those we love the most. Imagine what could be achieved if we invested even a fraction of the time we spend scrolling through social media, watching Netflix or dwelling on past regrets into our personal development or nurturing relationships.

It's about understanding that our time is the foundation upon which we can build a legacy. The legacy that speaks not of how much we earned, but of how much we've impacted; not of our bank balance, but of the balance we've brought to our lives and the lives of others.

I would love you to consider this:

Every minute is an opportunity to move closer to your vision. Ask yourself, how will you invest your time today? Will it be spent on actions that align with your visualised success, or will it slip away unnoticed? We know that feeling so well, we are at the end of the day and tired and feel deserved of a break and to immerse ourselves into the latest TV series, it fulfils an initial desire, but so often we feel flat afterwards and instead, we could have spent that time with someone close to us, or perhaps reading a helpful book that has been on our reading list for months, or perhaps it’s learning a new skill, that will help move us towards one of our goals. When we have the luxury of spare time, we have a choice of how we use it.

I would love you to make a commitment to value time as your most precious resource. Let it guide your decisions, fuel your actions, and inspire you to build a life rich with purpose. One of the changes I have recently made is exactly the one I mentioned above, when it feels all too easy to reach for the TV control, I have now instead filled that time with something worthwhile and enriching, but still relaxing and it has made a monumental difference … my reading list for starters is refreshing more rapidly and I’m learning more than ever before. I now greatly look forward to those moments of quiet, as I know they will be filled with something that makes me feel genuinely good and contribute to so many of the goals I am working towards. 

We celebrated the 2% wins, those incremental steps that compound over time into significant transformations. We've opened our minds to the art of visualisation, using it as a tool to clearly define and feel the future we're working towards.

And we've recognised the invaluable currency of time—how it's the substrate for every goal we set, every dream we dare to dream, and every legacy we aspire to build.

Change is of course a process, with a combination of persistence and helped by the consistency of our actions. It's a path that unfolds one day at a time, one choice at a time.

So, as you move forward into the rest of today, this week, this year—embrace the rhythm of consistency, celebrate the small victories, visualise your success in vivid detail, and invest your time with intention and purpose.

Change may be a process, but it's very much a process that you have the power to begin anew, right now, at this very moment.

I want to leave you with a simple yet profound action that you can take. Take a step, however small, towards your goals right after this episode ends. It’s so easy simply to ignore this and move on into your day and the tasks that need completing, but if you do that, then you have just wasted the time you have spent with me, and I really don’t want that for you.

The easiest way to get started is to choose something that is very easy and enjoyable. This is the best way to combat any form of procrastination. The easier and more enjoyable it is, the far more likely you will be to action, and this is the wonderful thing with starting, once you start, you begin to build momentum and it’s then easier to move onto slightly harder and more challenging steps.

Take exercise as an example, the days where I really don’t fancy going outside for a run, I simply put on my shoes and I promise myself that if I am really hating it in 5mins, I can turn around and head back home, and here’s the thing, once I have gone to the effort of putting my shoes on, and getting outside, once I have started, I never want to turn back within 5mins, I always go onto to complete the full run. But, each time, I promise myself that I really can quit if I still really want to after just 5mins, because those 5mins are better than nothing … and after I have achieved that 5mins, I feel good and it builds onto something bigger.

This is the power of the 2%. If I was focussed on my ultimate huge fitness goal every time I went for a run or into the gym, it would feel far too big and definitely insurmountable, but by breaking it down into far, far smaller steps, like really feeling that 5mins is a great achievement, then it is far, far more likely to happen. In that moment, I am not completely certain that I can achieve my ultimate fitness goals, but I know, quite definitely that I can achieve 5mins of running.

It's like a huge goal of starting a business. This is mountain of a goal. Where on earth do you start with this goal? It can definitely feel unachievable, most definitely something out of reach, particularly if this is something you have never done before. How on earth do you go from a corporate 9-5, to becoming your own boss, with a thriving business, where you call the shots and you have full control of your decisions, with offerings that make a huge impact on your customers and clients, where you love your day to day, and in turn, you are successfully generating an income stream that ensures you feel fulfilled and excited, and puts you in a position to invest into your business and work towards continued growth.

How on earth do you achieve that goal, where do you start? Well, the simple answer is each day you complete a different, small, actionable and highly achievable task, from deciding your business name on the first day, to registering the domain name, to beginning the research on which website platform you will use initially.

To start a business, you simply take the very first step and continue consistently each day … it’s like all huge goals, it’s about the small daily steps, initially the easier ones, the ones you will find the most enjoyable and you will find that momentum builds ,and you are very much working towards your dream with determination and you begin to feel really good.

Another incredibly helpful tool is journaling your progress. It's a powerful way to reflect on your growth and to keep track of those 2% wins. And I would love to hear from you either via email or on Instagram, not for validation, but to inspire and to connect. And you can contact me via email using the address news@philippacraddock.com.

Now is a really good time to embrace the change you've envisioned. Don't let the inspiration fade into the background noise of your daily life. Take action, make it tangible, and watch as your daily efforts lead to something extraordinary.

I hope from this episode you’ve fully embraced that it's not about grand declarations or sweeping changes; it's about the quiet determination to take today's inspiration and turn it into your life's action.

Every day offers a fresh page, and what we decide to do, can be a series of actions that lead to steady progress, no matter how incremental. It’s about the small choices. It’s the steady pace of the persistent that outlasts the very sporadic sprints and excessive bouts of energy. I would love you to hold onto that vision and to understand exactly what’s possible for you, through the simple act of small changes.

Thank you for sharing this time with me. Until our next episode, stay curious, stay open, and stay eager to create the extraordinary from the ordinary, every single day.

With huge love,
Philippa x