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Tamrat Tesfaye, Addis Ababa (2025)

10/08/2025

Day 27 Complete ✅ | 75 Hard Challenge

Feeling super grateful and happy for life, the people around me, and the work I get to do. Workouts complete, reading finished, water target met, diet on track, and progress picture taken. The routine is flowing and the mindset is getting stronger every day.

From my read in Atomic Habits, one story really stood out. In 1971 during the Vietnam War, researchers discovered that nearly 20% of U.S. soldiers were addicted to he**in. But here is the surprising part — when they returned home, 90% of them quit almost immediately. The reason was simple. Their environment changed. The cues that triggered the habit in Vietnam were gone, and so was the addiction.

The lesson is powerful reminder as to why self-control is often less about willpower and more about shaping your surroundings. People who seem to have incredible discipline usually design their lives to avoid temptation altogether. You cannot always fight your environment, but you can change it. If you want to break a bad habit, remove the cues that spark it. If you want to build a good habit, make the cues obvious. It is easier to design for success than to rely on endless willpower. That is the real secret to self-control.

09/08/2025

Day 26 Complete ✅ | 75 Hard Challenge

Another solid day locked in. Workouts complete, reading finished, water target met, diet fully in check, and progress picture taken. Things are going really well, even though life has been non stop lately. Even with a packed schedule, the commitment stays strong and the habits are sticking.

My takeaway from Atomic Habits really stood out to me: “Motivation is overrated; environment often matters more.” The truth is, you do not always need more willpower. Sometimes you just need to make the right choice the easiest one. Small tweaks in your surroundings can quietly shift your actions without you even realizing it.

Your spaces shape your behavior. If you want better habits, make the cues for them obvious and the path to them simple. Build an environment that pulls you toward success every single day. Environment is the invisible hand that shapes behavior. Design it wisely, and success becomes the obvious choice.

07/08/2025

Day 25 Complete ✅ | 75 Hard Challenge

One third of the way through. That’s 33.3 percent done. Day 25 felt solid. I had an amazing day, hit every target, and wrapped it feeling grateful, clear, and proud of the progress so far.

My reading from Atomic Habits focused on implementation intentions and habit stacking. It’s powerful how small changes in structure can double your follow-through. People rarely fail because they lack motivation. They fail because they lack a plan. The more specific your intention is about when and where something will happen, the more likely your brain is to follow through. That kind of clarity removes friction and turns intention into identity.

Habit stacking takes it even further. By linking a new habit to an existing one, you create momentum that builds naturally. It is one of the simplest ways to let your habits trigger each other and strengthen your routine without force.

This challenge continues to show me that discipline is often just better design. The more your systems do the lifting, the less willpower you need to show up. That’s how real change becomes possible.

We keep going, one day at a time.

06/08/2025

Day 24 Complete ✅ | 75 Hard Challenge

The cold is getting stronger, but so am I. I hit every target again and had a great day. My energy has been a bit off, but the habits are holding steady, and that’s the power of systems doing the heavy lifting when you are not at your best.

My reading explored how our brains become wired to pick up on patterns, often without us realizing. Experience teaches us what matters, and with repetition, our actions become automatic. This is how habits take root through consistent exposure, attention, and feedback. We build our instincts through what we practice, intentionally or not. Awareness is the starting point. Change only becomes possible when you begin to notice what you are actually doing.

04/08/2025

Day 23 Complete ✅ | 75 Hard Challenge

Another clean day. I hit all my goals, including workouts, water, reading, progress photo, everything. It is starting to feel more automatic. The resistance is still there, especially as I am dealing with some sickness, but the momentum is stronger. I am not thinking twice, I am just doing.

My reading from Atomic Habits reinforced that habits are not just about action, they are about solving life’s problems with less effort. They exist to free up mental space so we can focus on growth. The better your systems, the easier it becomes to show up.

We are building routines that carry us even when energy is low. That is the real win. You create better habits by making them obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying. You break bad ones by doing the opposite. It is not about willpower, it is about systems. Real change lasts when your environment supports the identity you are growing into.

03/08/2025

Day 22 Complete. 75 Hard Challenge ✅

Momentum is building and things are clicking into place. I hit every target. Water goal met. Both workouts done. Reading complete. Progress picture taken. Feeling strong and deeply fueled by the people cheering me on through calls, texts, and in person interactions. I’m beyond grateful for every bit of encouragement. It’s made this journey lighter and more meaningful.

From Atomic Habits, I read about how habits form in four steps: cue, craving, response, and reward. Thorndike’s puzzle box experiment showed that learning starts with trial and error, but with consistency, behavior becomes automatic. That’s the essence of habit formation. Your brain turns effective responses into default actions. Habits are not about restricting your freedom. They are what create it. The more your fundamentals are automatic, the more space you unlock for creativity, deep work, and presence.

Doing the work. Building the identity. Becoming someone better.

31/07/2025

Day 20 Complete ✅ | 75 Hard Challenge

Nothing is quite as inspiring as watching someone willingly take on a hard challenge. To grow, to push limits, and even more powerfully, to do it in public. Meet Samuel Bereket, a friend and fellow builder, who just began a 100-day journey focused on leveling up as a developer and as a person.

He is committing to coding every day, running consistently, reading with intention, and building strong habits along the way. It's a journey rooted in discipline, growth, and consistency. Watching him step into this space and share openly was a reminder of how much impact commitment can have. You can follow his journey on LinkedIn - Samuel Bereket and be part of it as it unfolds.

I completed everything on my list. Balancing all the habits is not easy, but sticking to the routine, even when it feels hard, continues to shape who I am. Seeing others step into their own challenges keeps pushing me forward. The presence of a community choosing to do difficult things is a force in itself.

My reading from Atomic Habits explored how habits shape identity and how identity shapes habits. Real change comes from aligning actions with beliefs. The more consistently you behave like the person you want to become, the more you embody that identity.

Here’s to showing up, doing the work, and becoming who we are meant to be.

29/07/2025

Day 19 Complete ✅ | 75 Hard Challenge

Day 19 was a great day. I completed everything on my to-do list, and even though the evening run was tough because of the cold, I pushed through. My breathing is getting better, and my focus is sharper.

What made the day even more meaningful was seeing my friend Kidus Nesibu begin a powerful new challenge. He is committing to 100 Days of Dev and Grit, working on full-stack development projects while running every single day to build both mental and physical discipline.

His goal is simple but ambitious. By Day 100, he plans to ship a full-stack project from scratch and help others build alongside him. Every day, he is sharing what he is learning, where he gets stuck, and how he keeps going.

Reading his post, seeing his roadmap, and catching his first progress photo on Telegram gave me a serious jolt of motivation. There is something deeply inspiring about watching someone choose discomfort and growth, and then decide to do it publicly.

I want to dedicate today’s post to him. To his courage and to the spark he has lit for others. If you are reading this, take a moment to cheer him on. Follow his journey. Drop a word of encouragement. It matters more than we realize.

📲 Follow Kidus here
LinkedIn: Kidus Nesibu
Telegram:

Today’s read from Atomic Habits reminded me why this matters. Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. The small actions may not feel like much at first, but over time, they quietly build something powerful.

Let’s keep showing up. Let’s keep building.

28/07/2025

Day 18 Complete ✅ | 75 Hard Challenge

Day 18 was locked in. I ticked off everything on my to-do list and started my new book, Atomic Habits by James Clear.

The introduction was powerful. It opens with a life-altering injury the author experienced in high school and how his long recovery taught him the value of building consistent habits. What stood out wasn't just the trauma but how he transformed setbacks into structure. Progress didn’t come from a single moment. It came from small wins repeated over time.

That message reinforced why this challenge matters. The small disciplines we commit to each day are what shape the bigger picture and I’m in it for the long game.

26/07/2025

Day 17 Complete ✅ | 75 Hard Challenge

Day 17 was a good and productive one. I completed everything in the challenge and stayed disciplined with my clean eating, saying no to junk food without hesitation. That kind of self-control is something I am proud of.

I also finished The Defining Decade today. The last chapter made it clear that no one is coming to guarantee your life will work out. You are the one deciding it right now. Like the ranger said to a nervous hiker wondering if they would make it, you haven’t decided yet. We spend so much time wondering how things will turn out when the real answer lies in whether we are taking ownership and being intentional with our choices. Mountains do not care and neither does time. Life rewards preparation, not potential.

A new book starts tomorrow. Onward.

25/07/2025

Day 16 Complete ✅ | 75 Hard Challenge

Day 16 was a solid one. Workouts, water, reading, and progress pic all done. But what really made it stick was today’s chapter from The Defining Decade. It explored how we lose track of time in our twenties when there’s no clear structure. Like a guy who lived in a cave and thought twenty-five days had passed when it was actually two months.

It reminded me that time does not wait. If we do not act with intention, it keeps moving anyway. The idea of “present bias” stood out, we tend to chase short-term comfort and put off long-term goals. But our twenties are not a waiting room. They are where the story begins.

Every small decision today is shaping the future. This challenge is helping me stay grounded in that truth.

24/07/2025

Day 15 Complete ✅ | 75 Hard Challenge

Two weeks of doing hard things. And somehow I’m still smiling.

Day 15 felt like a real milestone. The momentum is building, the habits are sticking, and there’s real joy in looking back. What’s been even more meaningful is seeing others join the journey. This challenge doesn’t feel like mine alone anymore. It’s becoming a shared story.

Both workouts done, water goal hit, reading finished, progress photo taken.

Almost done with The Defining Decade and it’s been an eye-opener on how much of our lives are shaped in our twenties. It reminded me that making informed choices early is everything. Not out of fear but out of clarity and intention.

I’ve already picked up three new books to dive into next. More pages. More reps. More intentional days.

Tamrat Tesfaye

10/08/2025

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