Latest Unthinking - December

Staying with us for 2026? I really do hope so… Send over your favourite graphic (see last section) to get a shoutout next year...

I used to have a gym instructor who’s favourite line was this:

In other words, you showed up, and that’s the hardest part. You’ve suppressed all the excuses that were bubbling away that could have stopped you being here. But you didn’t. You’re here and the rest will take care of itself. Let’s get to work.

Worrying about the task at hand is often what prevents us from starting the task. You might have something that you’ve been delaying and waiting for new year to kick start it. So, if you think that having a 6 instead of a 5 at the end for the year will solve your procrastination, this one is for you.

With this in mind, we have two approaches:

1. Make starting easier

2. Make skipping harder

To make starting easier, we need to reduce the (perceived) energy it takes.

• Think small to start and stack the wins. Don’t aim too high initially, what’s achievable? One of our clients have created a culture memo recently, here’s one line I loved from it:

• Remove the friction that’s stopped you so far. Block the diary out, turn the phone off, buy some running trainers for winter. Get started.

Consistency is king. Design punishments so pain of avoidance is high enough to make you move the heaviest weight (turn up) by default.

• Leverage community. Find a mate or several to do it with. Letting others down is harder than letting yourself down.

• Put your money where your mouth is. Commit financially.

Consistently showing up counts for way more than you think.

One of our favourite examples of this is podcasting.

Feast your brain on this stat here…

Talking of choosing hard and consistency… 🏃👇

When most people are winding down, Nedd Brockmann is still out running.
He doesn’t do it because he has to. He chooses the hard path, where he thrives.

The world watched in disbelief when he arrived at Bondi Beach in 2022 after running 3,900 kilometres from Perth in 47 days. He shattered expectations and pushed body and mind far beyond their limit. The hardest part wasn’t the pain or fatigue, it was leaving behind an ordinary life to chase something extraordinary.

Nedd wasn’t an elite athlete. He was an electrician who spent his days wiring homes. After long shifts, he would lace up and run a marathon every night.
Fifty nights. Fifty marathons.
His mantra: “Live. Give. Get uncomfortable.”

After working 10-hour days, he would run 42 kilometres through the dark while others rested, training the mindset that fuelled his record-breaking run.

In 2023, he set a new challenge: running around a 400 metre track for 12 days straight. No changing scenery, just the same loop, hour after hour, racking up over 1,000 kilometres to raise millions for homelessness in Australia.

With swollen feet three sizes too big, tendinitis everywhere, and no function in part of his leg, his mum wheeled him to the track each morning so he could start again. The pain was constant, just footsteps, breath, and endurance.

But there, he found clarity. “I don’t think about the distance ahead,” he said. “I focus on the lap I’m running now. It’s all about the next step.”

Nedd’s story isn’t about winning or even finishing. It’s about how you choose to show up, and refusing to settle for anything less than your best.

What else is coming up?

2026 book club starts again on January 30th… Radical Candor by Kim Scott is up first and rightly so. As always, you’re invited, just respond “book club” to this email to get the invite.

If you're not signed up for this newsletter and it was forwarded from a friend, you can correct this here 👇️

See you again in 2026!

Team Unthink 🫶

Graphic of the month chosen by Janne Muller-Wieland. P.S, in 2026, these will be chosen by you, the readers - send us scroll stopping graphics and we’ll shout you out in our newsletter! Who is going to be first?