Motivation Will Fail You

Here’s what won’t…

I know. You start off strong. You’re fired up and ready for change. You’re motivated like never before.

This time, you’re really going to follow through—tracking your expenses, saving toward your goals, curbing your spending, paying off your credit card balance in full every month, and working with your partner.

But then…
Life shows up.

You get tired. Busy. Distracted. Discouraged.

Now the work feels too hard, and the reward doesn’t feel tangible enough.

And your motivation? It fizzles.

This is not a personal flaw. It’s human.

Motivation is fickle. Systems are not.

Motivation can be a powerful starting point, but it’s rarely what carries us to the finish line.

Motivation is emotional. It depends on how we feel. And life doesn’t care.

If you want to follow through on something that truly matters (like improving your financial life or showing up differently in money conversations), then you need something more reliable than motivation.

You need resiliency!

In the money world, resiliency often looks like this:

👀 HABITS that support your bigger goals, even when you’re tired.
👀 SYSTEMS that make the right action easier than the wrong one. ACCOUNTABILITY that reminds you 👀 of why you started, and keeps you going

HABITS: Make them happen easily.

We tend to overestimate how much motivation we’ll have tomorrow; and underestimate how powerful small habits are.

If you’ve read books like Atomic Habits or Tiny Habits, you already know that the secret isn’t trying harder. It’s in designing your life to make the new behavior automatic.

One of the best tactics?

Anchor your new habit to something you already do without thinking: (Thus the photo above of pouring your morning coffee!)

• After you pour your morning coffee, open your budget app and make sure all your transactions are assigned.

• After you take your dogs to the dog park on Sunday morning, have a 10-minute money check-in with your partner. (Take the Money Talks Quiz first to find out your communication style, and what’s keeping you stuck!)

The action is small, but the consistency is everything.

SYSTEMS: Your safety net when life gets messy.

Habits are actions. But systems are your structure for staying on track or recovering when you’ve veered off.

That’s why I teach couples and individuals to streamline their routines—simplify, organize, automate. My MoneyOps System™.

When you build systems around your money life, you create something you can come back to, even after a hard month or a financial misstep.

Systems make resiliency possible.

ACCOUNTABILITY: The often-missed ingredient.

Even with the resiliency built from your new habits and systems, it’s really accountability that keeps you going when you’d rather give up.

This can look different depending on your life:

• If you're in a partnership, your partner can be a powerful ally (if you’ve learned to talk about money in positive ways).

• If you're navigating money alone, choose someone who believes in your goals. Tell them what you’re working toward. Ask if they’d check in with you regularly.

• If you’re doing deeper work around changing your money relationship, a coach or supportive group can provide compassionate accountability that keeps you on track.

You don’t need to go it alone. And you’re far more likely to succeed if you don’t.

This is resiliency.

It doesn’t mean you're never tempted to give up. It means you’ve prepared for the moment when you will be.

It’s knowing that motivation will fade—but your habits, systems, and support can carry you through.

That’s how you keep moving toward your aspirations, even when things get messy.

Next steps.

Want to explore your communication style with money as a couple, and what’s really getting in the way of building resiliency? Try the Money Talks Quiz.

You’re capable of more than you think!