Keystone Habits and the Most Important Key to Keeping Clients Around

During a re-reading of “The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business”, I was reminded of the concept researchers call “Keystone Habits”. It is a seeming small isolated habit that affects many other unrelated aspects of their lives. Writing down everything that they ate, subjects saw not only improvements in their diet, they also saw improvements in many other aspects of their lives. Documenting everything that they bought, subjects saw improved use of their time and improved productivity. Waking up earlier (and going to bed earlier), has the power to change a person’s life completely. Etc.

Creating a regular fitness routine is one of these Keystone Habits. More powerful is engaging in a professional mentorship where a Coach not only improves health and fitness, but also creates documentation, self-reflection, accountability, etc. Entering into the regular practice of mastering a skill, deliberately doing things that make you uncomfortable (but better in the long run), and being deeply connected with a group of like minded people to foster belief in the process, are all ways to amplify the changes.

As Coaches, sometimes we get caught in the minutia of the fitness and nutrition realm and we lose sight of real goal: to make people into better humans. Health is not an end into itself. It is the tipping point to putting people on the path to living a great life.

Coaching people to become better humans has more in common with parenting than teaching an athlete to be great at their sport. Parents must invest thousands of hours to prepare their charges for the world. This is done out of love, and it isn’t done out of the incentive of a payoff (when people confuse the two, we end up with Honey Boo Boo and the parents of “Toddlers and Tiaras” or the parents that force their kids to specialize in a sport far too early). Treating your child like a start-up or piece of software seems ridiculous, but it can become an issue as parents’ identity is tied to closely to a child’s performance and success.

The other side of this coin is to produce dependence. It can happen with parents, and it can happen with the coach/client relationship. As a Coach, we should not strive to make our clients dependent on us for their progress and success. We do not want to be a crutch that ties them to us forever. This will not only limit their progress to the Coach’s schedule and resources, it will also limit the Coach’s ability to help more people.

How does this apply to long term retention?

The most important priority for a Coach is to make their client a more successful human. Better at their fitness and health. Better at their job. Better at parenting. Better at being a friend. Etc. The floor of the gym, dojo, school, is the space where we practice, discipline, learning, self-knowledge, handling setbacks, and improvement.

It is where we practice the growth mindset. It is where we engage in relationships with people who will challenge us to be better and where we must be examples to inspire others.

If we look at the most common preventable reasons why people quit the professional relationship of being part of a gym (not enough time, can’t afford it, not seeing results, etc.), we see things that a more successful human shouldn’t struggle with as much. Efficient use of time, being a better parent, being more productive at work, correct application of principles, are all habits that come from the Keystone Habit of practicing fitness in the right environment.

Movement is the language we use to teach the principals critical to a great life. Pursuing fitness gains as end, in-and-of-itself, is a losing battle. It can become a destination achieved once the energy/time input balances with the results. When it takes too much resources to get better, or when the client achieves their goal with the rudimentary skills in their control, interest will fall off and they will look for other places to invest.

Coaches, do not get tunnel vision and think about the health results as the goal. The goal is to teach people the skills of living a better life. Do not get caught up learning more about energy systems, weightlifting techniques, programming, how they can win their sport, etc., at the cost of learning about goal setting, sleep, communication, meditation, being productive, being a leader, and having fun.

To be a Coach for the rest of someone's life, it is your mission to distill the best practices toward living an awesome life, and disciple your clients through the ups and downs we all must face. You must strive to live an awesome life yourself, and you must never stop learning. Every client is an opportunity for you to grow as a mentor, to improve your own skills to help more people.

As all parents learn, investing your time into another human being’s success is one of the most rewarding things you can do. Invest your energy into making your clients more successful at everything, and you never have to worry about keeping them around long term. And your own life will be more successful and fulfilling than you can imagine.

Thrive on.

-jj