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Muscle Memory is Sabotaging Your Success
Even the most brilliant among us accidentally build the very chaos we're trying to escape
Jen Phillips
December 16, 2025
Hi it's Jen,
I struck a nerve last week on LinkedIn. The topic? Self-sabotage. The kind that happens when smart, capable founders define success clearly and then…muscle memory kicks in, and chaos wins - again.
So today, I'm giving you the expanded version. Because this pattern isn't just common - it's the single biggest thing I see risking founder success right now.
In today's issue:
How our “MORE = BETTER” wiring actively sabotages success
The discipline problem that's actually a muscle memory problem
The 3-filter system to catch self-sabotage before it catches you
Read time: 6 minutes
Default
A few weeks ago, a founder I'm working with sat across from me (virtually) and said something I hear constantly: "I know exactly what I need to do. I just built a business that traps me into doing the opposite." They'd spent Week 1 of the Sprint getting crystal clear on their definition of success. We defined their Success Levers. We mapped their options. We eliminated the ‘not-really-options’ options. |
They emerged from that work energized. Focused. Ready.
By Week 7? Chaos creeping in.
Not because they forgot what mattered. Not because they're undisciplined. But because muscle memory has the propensity to override strategy.
What that looks like in practice:
→ Saying yes to "quick syncs" that hijack their morning
→ Starting new projects when the strategy is SIMPLIFY
→ Chasing "opportunities" that don’t move the needle
It’s not a character flaw. It's conditioning.
Corporate America wires us to believe MORE = SUCCESS from day one.
More projects. More meetings. More hustle. More visibility. Growth in all ways, always.
The very muscle memory that designates our success in corporate environments builds the prisons of our own design as founders.
Because that circuitry doesn't leave our nervous systems overnight.
According to a University College London study, it takes an average of 66 days to build a new habit - but that's for simple behavioral changes. For deeply ingrained professional patterns that were reinforced for years with promotions and praise?
Active, conscious rewiring requires a longer timeline.
What makes it even harder is that our environment and workplace norms trigger muscle memory at every turn.
Every "quick question" Slack message. Every "let's hop on a call" request. Every shiny opportunity that lands in your inbox.
Each one is a test: Will you default to the old wiring, or execute the new discipline?
First, it's a clarity problem (you don't know what matters most).
Then it's a discipline problem (you know what matters, but you can't seem to protect it).
But at the core? It's a muscle memory problem.
Ambition
What I learned the hard way, is the truth I'm now watching my Sprint clients discover:
Self-induced chaos presents as opportunity.
That potential client who "would be perfect for you"
The speaking gig that "could lead to bigger things"
The partnership opportunity that "only takes a few hours a week"
The side project that "might really take off"
None of these are bad on their own. But when we say yes without considering the whole picture? We've just rebuilt the chaos we vowed we’d never design.
Self-directed discipline looks completely different:
Locking in on ONE healthy revenue stream instead of eight shiny new ones
Responding "let me get back to you" instead of an instant yes
A calendar that reflects our strategy, not just our availability
The uncomfortable power of NO to opportunities that don't match our definition of success
 Not the muscles we’re looking for | And in a world where AI is rewriting job descriptions faster than we can adapt them, where the future of work is arriving in real-time, where founders are facing more uncertainty than ever before... This muscle memory becomes even more dangerous. Because the instinct when things are uncertain is to hedge. To keep more options open |
But really? It’s self-sabotage dressed up as optionality.
The founders who will thrive through what's coming aren't the ones who can handle the most chaos.
They're the ones who can resist it.
We’re not weak. And we don't lack discipline.
We're addicts trying to recover from a system optimized for MORE.
And just like any recovery, the first step is recognizing the pattern. The second step is building new circuitry through repetition.
The new ambition isn't doing more. It's being ruthless about doing less of what doesn’t deliver us to our definition of success.
Quick favor: Know someone whose muscle memory has massive momentum? Help them slow the chaos.
GO | DO
Estimated time: 15 minutes | Estimated energy: minimal
This week, the 3-Filter Self-Sabotage Identification System
These aren't just reflection questions. They're diagnostic tools to catch yourself mid-muscle-memory.
 | The Alignment Filter (5 minutes)
Radical honesty accelerates growth. |
 | The Focus Audit (5 minutes)
The goal: Protect 60 uninterrupted minutes 3 (or more) times this week for focused, high-value work. |
 | The Disconnect Ritual (5 minutes)
You are more than your work. Look up. Hug someone. Be present. |
What’s In It For All Of Us
Moving past muscle memory to build new, disciplined muscles shows what sustainable success actually looks like in action.
Chaos is contagious. But so is discipline.
Every time we say no to something misaligned, we show someone else they can to do the same.
🎯 More is definitely more. But living that way is self-sabotage.
Get In There
📊 Subscribe to The New Ambition for instant access to the complete subscriber vault: healthy leadership tools, templates, and frameworks updated weekly with resources shaped by subscriber feedback.
💡How much do interruptions cost us? It’s BIG. Microsoft's Work Trend Index details the chaotic cognitive cost of context-switching at work.
Which filter hits home?Where is your muscle memory strongest? |
Your calendar tells your story. So do your dashboards. Chaos or the (real) hero’s journey...What’s the epic tale you’re writing?
P.S. If you read this and thought, "This is exactly me," I'm opening 2 spots for Success Options Planning Sprints in January.
We'll map your options, eliminate chaos, and build the discipline system that actually sticks - because it's designed around your definition of success, not corporate America's.→ Schedule a Fit Call