The Rachel Hollis Podcast

935 | Motivation NEVER Works Longterm... Do This Instead (Live Webinar Recording)

February 16, 2026

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  • Motivation is fleeting and unreliable for long-term change; sustainable progress relies on building routines, habits, and rituals that function even on 'mid-level' or hard days. 
  • Toxic motivation tactics, such as self-hate, excessive caffeine, or comparison to others, are damaging because we would never use them on people we love, and they lead to cycles of shame. 
  • To achieve goals, one must establish a clear 'North Star' goal, create a reliable system or 'recipe' built into existing habits (habit stacking), set realistic time expectations, and curate a supportive environment. 
  • Timeline creation is incredibly powerful for achieving goals, requiring the speaker to constantly back up plans to see if they can be shortened. 
  • The environment, specifically the people you spend time with, is a huge factor in success, as supportive peers make staying on plan easier, while unsupportive people may actively or passively sabotage change. 
  • Momentum, built through consistent process and habits, is more valuable than motivation, as consistent effort eventually leads to a powerful flywheel effect where progress feels less strenuous. 

Segments

Showing Up Without Hustle
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(00:01:01)
  • Key Takeaway: True progress comes from consistently showing up for your life every day, regardless of peak performance, aligning choices with your future self.
  • Summary: The goal is to show up for your life seven days a week, even if the effort is minimal, like doing yoga or reading a growth book. This consistency, not intense hustle, ensures daily choices align with the desired future version of oneself. Every day does not need to resemble a marathon effort.
Motivation Trap and Shame
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(00:03:36)
  • Key Takeaway: The conventional goal-setting culture often fails because it relies on fleeting motivation, leading to self-blame and shame when inevitable setbacks occur.
  • Summary: Rachel Hollis has spent 15 years observing that when plans fail, people rarely blame the plan; instead, they blame themselves, fueling a cycle of discouragement. Motivation is a short-term feeling that cannot support long-term change, unlike routines, habits, and rituals.
Best Days vs. Worst Days
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(00:08:07)
  • Key Takeaway: Sustainable progress requires designing a plan that accounts for low-energy days influenced by hormones or stress, rather than relying solely on peak performance days.
  • Summary: Most people have only a few ‘great days’ (Disney character days) per month, and a number of ‘hard days.’ The majority of days fall in the middle, where relying on motivation fails; the system must work even when energy is low.
Toxic Motivation Tactics
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(00:12:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Methods used to force motivation, such as self-hate, over-caffeination, or comparison, are damaging because they are forms of self-abuse we would never inflict on loved ones.
  • Summary: Hating yourself into action, using caffeine to induce a nervous system freak-out, or comparing yourself to an idealized past or present version of another woman are unhealthy motivators. These tactics hurt the inner self, which still needs love and appreciation, regardless of age.
Diet Culture and Unsustainable Change
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(00:17:42)
  • Key Takeaway: Short-term, restrictive diets (like the Cabbage Soup Diet) work temporarily but fail long-term because they are unsustainable, leading to binge cycles and increased shame.
  • Summary: Rachel Hollis details her history of binge-eating cycles resulting from restrictive dieting aimed at achieving an external ideal (like Britney Spears’ stomach). The failure is attributed to the unsustainability of the method, not personal weakness, reinforcing the need for lasting systems over temporary intensity.
Hope is Not a Strategy
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(00:24:27)
  • Key Takeaway: Relying on external market response or waiting for inspiration (hope) to drive business actions is ineffective; a concrete process must be in place.
  • Summary: In business, waiting for positive market feedback before continuing to pitch or work leads to stopping efforts during slow periods, followed by shame. Hope is not a strategy for growth; a consistent process is required to maintain momentum regardless of external validation.
Choosing Your Reality (Red Things Exercise)
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(00:27:00)
  • Key Takeaway: You see what you are looking for; establishing a clear North Star goal forces your brain to filter reality and focus only on elements that support that chosen direction.
  • Summary: The exercise of counting red objects demonstrates that perception is dictated by focus; if you don’t choose your destination, the overwhelming world dictates what you see. Deciding on a goal—like starting a nonprofit or breaking a generational cycle—is choosing the reality you want to manifest.
Habits: The Power of Ritual
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(00:30:55)
  • Key Takeaway: The goal is to make desired growth actions as automatic and unconscious as ingrained habits like brushing your teeth, eliminating the need for motivation.
  • Summary: We have deeply wired habits triggered by cues (e.g., rinsing face triggers nose blowing). Understanding the cue-action loop allows one to build new, desired actions into existing routines, making them mandatory rather than optional.
Framework Step 1: Goal Setting
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(00:35:49)
  • Key Takeaway: Goals should be categorized into three types—the ‘One Thing,’ chasing a feeling, or defining a ‘Future You’ persona—to ensure relevance across different life seasons.
  • Summary: Perfectionists must choose any direction to initiate energy movement, as analysis paralysis prevents progress. The ‘One Thing’ goal identifies the single action whose success elevates all other areas of life, like a rising tide.
Framework Step 2: Building Systems
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(00:46:59)
  • Key Takeaway: Systems are the repeatable recipes that bridge the gap between the current state and the goal, requiring experimentation to find what works consistently.
  • Summary: A system is the equation that produces a result, much like a recipe for baking a cake. Once an equation is found that works (even on bad days), it must be integrated into existing habit sequences (habit stacking) to eliminate friction.
Framework Step 3 & 4: Time and Environment
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(00:53:11)
  • Key Takeaway: Setting a realistic timeline for goal achievement prevents burnout by managing pressure, and the people in your environment significantly impact your ability to maintain forward momentum.
  • Summary: Having a time expectation (e.g., 10 years for a major goal) reduces immediate pressure, while a tight timeline can increase necessary effort. The environment, specifically the people you associate with, is a huge factor in success, as surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals supports your chosen path.
Timeline Acceleration Strategy
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(00:58:53)
  • Key Takeaway: Goal timelines are powerful tools for acceleration through backward planning.
  • Summary: The speaker details moving from California to New York, initially planning for a later date but accelerating the timeline by working backward from desired completion points. This process involves asking what must be true to achieve the goal sooner, making the timeline a critical component of goal execution. This constant evaluation helps shorten the path to the desired outcome.
Environment and Social Sabotage
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(00:59:40)
  • Key Takeaway: Surrounding yourself with people pursuing similar goals is crucial for success, as others’ comfort zones can actively hinder your change.
  • Summary: The environment, defined by the people you associate with, significantly impacts success; being around those who share your health or business goals makes adherence easier. Conversely, friends encouraging unhealthy habits like ‘Taco Tuesday’ can trigger shame spirals because they do not grasp the larger impact of small choices. Changing your life activates resistance in those unwilling to change, as your progress holds a mirror up to their own unmade choices.
Momentum Over Motivation
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(01:03:08)
  • Key Takeaway: Momentum, not motivation, sustains progress once the initial difficult effort creates a flywheel effect.
  • Summary: While the initial push to change feels like Sisyphus pushing a boulder, consistent effort builds momentum that eventually makes the process flow naturally. Finding community, whether through paid programs or free online groups, is essential for building this momentum and gaining necessary knowledge. The ultimate challenge is to schedule one action this week that moves you toward your goal, replacing the need for motivation with a defined process or habit stack.