The 'Quick-Fix' Trap: Why Shortcuts Sabotage Our Success

June 2025 Edition

In this Topic

Personal Story of Cutting Corners
The Compound Effect: Why Slow & Steady Wins Each Time
Spotting Quick-fix Schemes
How to Implement the 1% Rule
Takeaways

There are many ways in getting to where you need to get to and some of those ways may lead you there a lot quicker. But, in choosing in what we consider it as a 'shortcut', do we truly feel rewarded when we don't allow ourselves to put the quality time, hard work, and effort getting there? In most cases, the answer is no and we often end up feeling disappointment and thinking that we wasted our time.

With this week's newsletter, I wanted to address why a 'quick-fix' may not be the best option in getting what we truly want, how to prepare for the challenging path that lies ahead, and to envision the kind of results IF taking that route.

I Skipped a Step!

Just about more than a week ago, I had went about my ritual warm-up routine for my fav workout of the week that being leg day. Having my head down, eyes completely shut blasting that Westside Gunn thru my earphones; you know I get in my bag for these workouts.

I went through every step per usual EXCEPT working on core stability exercises that would supplement lifting multiple heavy loads on deadlifts. This step –– being my most crucial exercise before performing deadlifts –– was skipped because I had thought I felt completely prepared and ready for these lifts.

Once I warmed up to my working sets of 315s, everything seemed to feel really good. The weight moved quickly and I felt strong UNTIL one of my last few reps on my 3rd set... I felt this slight tweak in my low back. In that moment, I didn't think of it as anything. It didn't hurt at all because of the adrenaline pumping through my veins. I then went about the rest of my workout.

However, the following day, I felt it. I had come to realize that I had a minor strain on my back 😩

& this was all because of skipping such a crucial step that I normally do from just this one time.

I train so often that to be completely honest I skip steps but what that left me was feeling irresponsible and injured. (I feel fine now btw!)

Moral of the story; don't cut corners. Do what has been working for you and if it's not working out, adjust as necessary!

The Compound Effect: Why Slow & Steady Wins

Sustainable progression works like compound interest. Small, consistent improvements accumulate over time, resulting into exponential benefits. Think of the idea of getting 1% better every single day, starting today. You won't see major changes now but if you continue to work on making yourself a little bit better in any aspect of your life, whether that'd be fitness, diet, mindset, etc., you will see a substantial amount of change from that day if you were to compare yourself from day one.

For my dancers & hybrid athletes; just think,

Precision in choreography requires hundreds to thousands of quality repetitions
Injury prevention comes from gradual tissue adaptation from many nights of sleep and hundreds of whole food based meals.
Performing well in front of an audience builds through consistent and clean run-throughs and solid full-outs

That's why I tell my clients this each time they start training –– EVERY REP COUNTS.

‍Here's How to Spot Quick Fix Marketing

RED FLAGS 🚩

"Revolutionary breakthrough"
"Secret(s) revealed"
"Transform in days"
"No effort required"

BETTER INDICATORS 👍🏽

Evidence-based approaches
Realistic timelines
There's an emphasis on consistency
Individual assessmentprotocols
Gradual progression models

How To IMPLEMENT the 1% Rule ––

Instead of trying find a huge, dramatic transformation, aim for 1% daily improvement. This might mean:

Planning out your warm-up routine and doing it before going into the main workout
Include one additional serving of vegetable or fruit in your daily diet in substitution of an 'unhealthy' snack; think a protein & fiber rich protein shake for chips/pastry
Practicing one technical dance element per week or per month rather than multiple so that you have a better understanding of a single dance style rather than being bombarded with multiple dance styles
Taking one 5-min mindfulness break during your workday to be more present and to have more control of your stress levels throughout the day

These micro-improvements compound over time, creating substantial change without the instability of so called 'quick fixes'.

TAKEAWAYS

When we crave something easy and quick like instant gratification, choosing the longer path requires way more effort and conviction but, with a much larger reward that's way worth your time. Without cutting corners, taking the shorter route, cancelling out all the unwanted noise, and optimizing your process gets you to the person you are trying to become. Don't rush something that you want to last forever.