#1 [Self-Introduction] I won't let those who want to keep going do it alone. My determination for 'habit building' as I enter my 4th year as a coach

Nice to meet you! My name is Kohei.

In this note, I will be sharing tips on habit building for those who want to 'keep doing something,' such as studying or exercising.

While the world is overflowing with information on habit-forming techniques, I hope to go beyond simply introducing knowledge and use my own real-life experiences to encourage readers to take action.

In this post, I will introduce myself and share my determination for my future activities.

36 years old, father of 3, 4th year as a coach

I am currently 36 years old. I spend my busy days with my wife and three children (a 6-year-old daughter, a 2-year-old son, and a 3-month-old second son).

As for my career, after graduating from graduate school in a science field, I worked as a technical professional for 9 years at the company I joined as a new graduate. My salary was stable, but around the time I turned 30, I began to worry, 'Is this really how I want my professional life to go?' After many twists and turns, I changed jobs at 33 to a venture company in the education industry. After working there for 3 years as an in-house coach, I recently became independent as a 'life coach'.

During my time as an in-house coach, I supported over 100 clients and conducted approximately 1,800 sessions. I spoke with clients one-on-one every week, facing habit-forming challenges together, such as 'how to secure time for self-investment even when busy'.

Specifically, in addition to behavioral approaches like auditing time and setting small steps, I worked on deepening the understanding of the purpose behind 'why you are studying now' to help prepare the mindset for learning.

Seeing clients who initially struggled to keep studying eventually reach a point after a few months where they could continue their actions without feeling the pain was my greatest joy as a coach.

I myself continued to study English for 2-3 hours every day during my first year after changing jobs, raising my TOEIC score from 890 to 965. It was a desperate daily struggle to carve out time while both my wife and I were working and raising children.

I won't let those who want to keep going do it alone. The thought behind the radio program name

Through these experiences, I became deeply interested in 'when can people continue actions that are not urgent but important?'

Actually, there is something that has always frustrated me as a coach. When I meet clients again several months after their support period has ended, fewer than 1 in 100 are still continuing their studies at the same pace as before. Each time, I am painfully reminded that 'continuing to work hard alone is truly a daunting task'.

That is precisely why I intend to 'share content so that those who want to keep going are not alone'.

I named my radio program, which I started at the same time as this note, "HabitBase," with the hope that it would be a place people could return to like a base camp when they want to organize their habits.

By the way, the trigger for my awakening to habit building was the book 'Atomic Habits' (Japanese title: James Clear's One Habit That Grows with Compound Interest), which I read 6 years ago. It is my bible, which I have read at least 5 times in the original language, and this book has become the 'base' of my life.

The battle with the boomerang. I will talk about a coach's conflicts without hiding anything

When I tell clients that 'consistency is important,' those words become a boomerang that strikes deep into my own chest.

I also have habits that are going well and habits that I am failing at.

For example, I used to be dedicated to full marathons (PB: 3 hours 8 minutes), but ever since I injured my knee, I've become distant from running. Also, last year, I was going to the gym for strength training four times a week, but after my third child was born, my life changed drastically, and I canceled my gym membership at the end of February. I am currently exploring training I can do at home.

Furthermore, although I had been stoically eating plain roasted nuts as a snack, I recently got hooked on Muji's raisin chocolate due to a sudden lapse in judgment. I am realizing once again that there are countless triggers in daily life that can cause good habits to crumble.

On the other hand, I have been working hard on 'morning activities' since January of this year. For the first month, I set an extreme goal of waking up at 4:00 AM, but I have now settled into waking up at 5:00 AM, and I make time to write in my diary or study bookkeeping before the children wake up.

A challenge to increase the number of people who keep going

In this day and age, if you use AI, you can immediately get information on 'what you should do.' However, in the genre of self-improvement, including habit formation, I believe what matters is 'who is saying it.' I believe there are words that can only be delivered by a living, breathing human who is struggling to move their life forward while failing themselves.

To put it in a very pretentious way, for me, this note is a 'challenge to increase the number of people who keep going.' To push the backs of as many people as possible, I will also work hard to continue the 'habit' of sharing my activities.

I look forward to working with you from here on out!

Thank you for reading until the end.
I also talk about the content of this note on my Podcast, including some side stories. If you are interested, please give it a listen😊