Compounding: The New-Year Superpower Hiding in Plain Sight

Welcome to Our Latest Newsletter! 

📚 Read Time: 10 Minutes 

Happy almost-New Year! This week is when half the world starts scribbling down resolutions and dusting off their copy of Atomic Habits. (James Clear must love January, that book sells like hotcakes every year, and for good reason.) We do recommend it, because it taps into a powerful principle at the heart of all growth: compounding. 

Whether you’re aiming to get fit, learn a skill, or improve your career, big transformations don’t happen from one big effort. They happen from hundreds of tiny actions, repeated consistently. Compounding is often called the “eighth wonder of the world” for a reason. It’s like interest accruing in a bank account, but instead of dollars, you’re investing in habits, skills, and health. Do it right, and the results can seem magical, seemingly overnight success that was actually months or years in the making. 

This edition breaks it all down: 

• What compounding really means (beyond the finance analogy) and why it matters for your goals 
• How your brain and body change with consistent practice (the science of small wins adding up) 
• Six key stats that show the power of compounding, and the pitfalls of “quick fixes” 
• The Tiger Resilience lens: compounding vs. cumulative progress (why doing more isn’t the same as getting better) 
• How to harness compounding in your fitness and training (Michael’s Training Corner) 
• A real-world spotlight on an influential thinker who lives by the compound effect 
• And an interactive journal exercise to start compounding your own improvements in 2026 

Let’s get into it. 

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What Is “Compounding”? 

Compounding, in simple terms, means small things adding up to something big. In finance, it’s earning interest on your interest, a little money turns into a lot over time. In life, compounding is the idea that small habits, choices, or actions, repeated consistently, can yield dramatic improvements. As James Clear puts it, “Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.” In other words, the same way money multiplies through interest, the effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them." 

Importantly, compounding isn’t just a buzzword, it’s a mindset. It shifts our focus from chasing big, overnight wins to nurturing steady, incremental progress. If you get just 1% better at something each day, you won’t notice it at first. But give it time and those tiny gains will snowball into something remarkable. On the flip side, if you get 1% worse each day, no big deal today, maybe not tomorrow either, eventually you find yourself far off course. Compounding cuts both ways. 

In short, compounding is the humble daily grind that eventually leads to extraordinary results. It’s not flashy. It’s not an instant payoff. But it’s the closest thing you’ll find to a superpower for growth.

The Brain and Body on Compounding 

Compounding might sound abstract, but it’s happening in your body and brain all the time. When you embrace this principle, you’re working with your biology, not against it. Here’s how small, consistent changes physically transform you: 

• In Your Brain: Every time you practice a skill or repeat a behavior, your brain strengthens the neural pathways involved. Think of it as “neurons that fire together, wire together.” Do a new task once, and you’ve merely introduced it to your brain. Do it every day, and your brain adapts, making the connections more efficient and automatic. Learning a new language for 15 minutes daily, for example, may feel slow, but behind the scenes your neurons are literally rewiring. Over weeks and months, those tiny mental reps compound into improved memory, faster recall, and expertise. In this way, consistent practice compounds as neural change. A small habit, like meditating 5 minutes each morning, can lead to noticeable shifts in focus and calm over time, because each session builds on the last. 
• In Your Body: Physical adaptation works on a compounding curve too. The first time you jog a mile or do 5 push-ups, your muscles are challenged and microscopic fibers may break down. Your body rebuilds them a little stronger. Do it again and again, and you accumulate not just repetitions, but capacity. Your heart pumps more efficiently, your muscle fibers grow, your endurance increases. There’s often a delay before you see results, you can hit the gym for a week and look the same in the mirror. But under the surface, your body is compounding those efforts, and after a few months the changes become visible (and feel incredible). Crucially, small stresses + recovery, repeated regularly, equal big gains. That’s the principle of progressive overload in training: add a tiny bit more weight or intensity each week, and in a year you’ve made a massive leap. 
• Habits and Health: Compounding shows up in everyday health habits. Skip brushing your teeth once and nothing bad happens that day. Skip it every day, and those “not so bad” days add up to a dental disaster. Eat 100 calories more than you burn each day, and you won’t notice it this week, but in a year, that’s 10 extra pounds. Conversely, cut 100 calories a day or take a short walk each evening, and your future self will thank you. The little things are easy to overlook in the moment. Compounding is a reminder that our bodies tally up those little things over time, for better or worse. 
• Stress and Resilience: Even your stress response follows compounding. If you regularly practice calming techniques (like breathing exercises or short breaks), you strengthen your parasympathetic “rest and digest” response. You might barely feel a difference after one breathing session, but consistency builds a more resilient nervous system. On the other hand, if you let daily stressors pile up without relief, the negative effects compound: hormones like cortisol remain elevated, recovery worsens, and you inch toward burnout. Building resilience is less about one-off acts of willpower and more about compounded recovery habits (sleeping well night after night, etc.). 

The big takeaway: your brain and body are built to change gradually. Small inputs, repeated, lead to big outputs. Compounding is just a fancy word for leveraging that biological truth. 

Compounding by the Numbers

9% 

The percentage of people who successfully achieve their New Year’s resolutions. In other words, 91% of resolutions eventually fall short. Most of us aim for drastic change quickly…and it simply doesn’t stick. 

43%

The proportion of resolutions that are abandoned by the end of January. A huge chunk of people give up in the first month! This highlights a common pitfall: we expect huge results in weeks, get discouraged, and quit, instead of steadily compounding small changes over the year. 

~38× 

The improvement multiplier from getting just 1% better every day for one year. Yes, you read that right, ~38 times better. Tiny gains compound like interest: 1.01^365 ≈ 37.8. In practice, that could mean a modest skill today becomes world-class with consistent daily improvement.

~0

What you’re left with if you get 1% worse every day for a year. Mathematically, 0.99^365 ≈ 0.03 (just 3% of your original capacity!). In other words, neglect and tiny regressions compound, too. It effectively “zeroes you out” over time if you’re not careful. 

$10.7 million

The amount you’d have if you doubled a penny’s value every day for 31 days. This famous example shows how counterintuitive compounding can be. A penny doubled for a month turns into more than three times a one-time $3 million windfall. Day 15, you’d still only have $163. By day 3, over $10 million. Big outcomes start quietly. 

100%

The required gain to recover from a 50% loss. This is a striking asymmetry of compounding: if you drop from 100 to 50 (whether in money, performance, or even training capacity), you need a 100% improvement just to get back to 100. In life, this means avoiding “big crashes” is key. Steady growth with fewer huge setbacks beats a cycle of boom-and-bust, since losses set you back much more than equal-sized gains move you forward.

Tiger Resilience Lens: Compounding vs. Cumulative 

Compounding is progress that builds on itself. Cumulative is effort that simply adds up. They can look similar on the surface. Both involve “doing the work.” The difference is whether the work is actually making you better, or just making you tired. 

Cumulative effort sounds like this: “I went to five workouts.” “I worked 60 hours.” “I read ten books.” That’s movement. But movement isn’t always momentum. If the inputs aren’t structured to evolve, you can rack up a big total and still stay the same. 

Compounding effort is different. Each session teaches the next session. Each repetition sharpens the skill. Each week nudges the baseline up. You’re not just stacking actions. You’re building capacity. 

Compounding is what resilience looks like in real life. Not heroic effort once in a while. Consistent execution, week after week, until the curve bends. 

And that’s the part most people miss. The early phase feels “too small to matter.” Then one day it matters a lot.

Michael's Training Corner: Compounding Fitness for Real Results 

Let’s talk about compounding in fitness. Everyone wants to get in shape yesterday. It’s why we see “30-day shred” programs and New Year’s gym crowds trying to undo years of inactivity in a month. But the people who actually transform their bodies are playing the long game. They understand Compounding Fitness. Consistent workouts and small improvements, repeated over months, always outperform crash plans. 

When I start with a new client, the first conversation is about timeframe. What can you change in a week? Very little. In a month? Some progress, but nothing life-changing. In a year? A lot, if you stick with it. People overestimate what a few weeks can do and underestimate what a year of consistency can produce. That gap is why resolutions fail. We expect dramatic change by February, and when it doesn’t happen, motivation drops. 

What Is It? (Compounding Fitness) 

• A training approach focused on steady, cumulative improvement rather than short-term transformation. Think of fitness like an investment. Each workout is a small deposit that builds strength, endurance, and skill. 
• The opposite of crash diets or extreme programs. Instead of changing everything in six weeks, you build sustainable habits. Repeatable workouts, manageable nutrition changes, and recovery that compound over time. 
• The goal isn’t perfect weeks. It’s many “pretty-good” weeks of showing up. Over time, those weeks stack into meaningful gains. 

Why Is This So Important? 

• Consistency beats intensity. An 800-calorie workout done twice a month loses to 300 calories burned most days doing something you enjoy. 
• Compounding builds more than fitness. Gradual progress improves technique, confidence, and injury resistance, creating a loop where training becomes easier to sustain. 
• This matches how physiology works. Muscles adapt through small breakdowns and repair. Aerobic systems improve as the heart and mitochondria adapt incrementally. Push too hard too fast and you interrupt the process. Apply slightly more stress, recover, repeat, and progress follows. 

How I Use It with Clients: 

• Set realistic horizons: We frame goals over a year, not weeks. Instead of “lose 10 pounds in a month,” we aim for about one pound per week. That’s 50 pounds in a year. 
• Avoid the resolution trap: January motivation pushes people from zero to all-in. I deliberately pull them back. Three gym days instead of six. I’d rather underdo January and still be training in June than quit by March. 
• Build habit stacking: Habits are layered gradually. Week one might be an extra glass of water and a 10-minute lunch walk. Week two adds two moderate gym sessions. Week three introduces protein tracking. Each habit works alone. Together, they reshape the body. 
• Celebrate process, not outcomes: If someone wants to run a 5K but can only jog five minutes, consistency becomes the win. Three jogs per week comes before speed or distance. Performance improves once the habit sticks. 

In My Own Training: 

• I apply the same logic. When I wanted to improve my deadlift, I added five pounds per month. That’s 60 pounds in a year. Slow on paper. Massive in practice. No injuries. No stalls. 
• Earlier in my career, I chased extremes. Crash cuts. Huge mileage spikes. The results never lasted. Now I clean things up slightly and stay consistent. Volume builds gradually. Diet changes are modest. The improvements sneak up on you. 
• On hectic or low-energy days, I still do something. Fifteen minutes. An easy two-mile run. A few bodyweight sets. It keeps the habit alive and often helps recovery. Momentum matters. 

Tips for You to Try: 

Think long-term, act short-term: Set the annual goal, then focus on daily actions you control. Instead of “lose 20 pounds,” aim for a 200-calorie daily deficit through food or movement. 

Start smaller than you want: High motivation tempts overhauls. Resist it. Begin with a level that feels easy. Ten minutes of jogging beats forcing a 5K and quitting. 

Use habit stacking: Attach small actions to existing routines. Squats after brushing your teeth. Stairs after lunch. Individually trivial. Over months, transformative. 

Track the chain: Use a calendar or app to mark completion. Streaks build motivation. Missing one day happens. Missing two is the danger zone. 

Accept slow progress: Five extra seconds on a plank each week feels meaningless. A four-minute plank a year later doesn’t. Write this down. “It’s working, even when I can’t see it.” 

Watch negative compounding: Remove one small bad habit. No sugary drinks on weekdays. Thirty minutes earlier sleep. Small changes prevent long-term drift. 

Bottom line: Compounding fitness is the long game. You’re not just burning calories today. You’re building a body, skillset, and identity that improve year after year. Give it time, and the results won’t feel gradual anymore. 

Real-World Spotlight: Darren Hardy and The Compound Effect 

Darren Hardy has spent decades articulating a truth most people resist. Extraordinary outcomes are built from ordinary actions, repeated consistently over time. His book, The Compound Effect, strips away the myth of overnight success and replaces it with something far less glamorous and far more reliable. 

Hardy’s work centers on a simple but demanding idea. The smallest daily choices are never neutral. They are always compounding. Either in your favor or against you. 

Core insights from Hardy’s work: 

Small choices are powerful
Tiny decisions, repeated daily, create momentum. What feels insignificant today becomes decisive over months and years. 

• Consistency beats intensity
  Being great once in a while doesn’t change your trajectory. Being steady does. Momentum builds from repetition, not heroic effort. 

• The payoff is delayed
  Compounding is quiet early on. Progress often feels invisible. Then the curve bends, and results appear “sudden,” even though they were earned. 

• Negative habits compound too
  Small indulgences, skipped days, or ignored behaviors don’t hurt immediately. Over time, they create gaps that are much harder to close. 

• Tracking creates awareness
  What gets measured becomes adjustable. Tracking behavior brings unconscious patterns into the light, where change becomes possible. 

Hardy’s message is both hopeful and confronting. You don’t need massive change today. You need small, aligned actions done consistently, and the patience to let time amplify them. Compounding doesn’t announce itself. But once it takes hold, it becomes undeniable. 

📘 Recommended reading: The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy 

👉 https://www.amazon.com/Compound-Effect-Darren-Hardy/dp/159315724X 

📝 Interactive Journal: Compounding in Action 

Set aside 5–10 minutes. This isn’t about perfection. It’s about clarity and commitment. 

1. Define the direction
What is one goal you’re carrying into the new year that actually matters to you? 

Write it out in one sentence. Not the outcome you wish for, but the direction you want to move in. 

2. Shrink it down
What is the smallest repeatable action that would move this goal forward if you did it most days? 

Think too small to fail. Something you could do even on a busy or low-energy day. 

3. Identify the leak
What is one small habit or behavior that might be compounding against you right now? 

Not the dramatic ones. The quiet ones you brush off. Name it. 

4. Commit to a short window
For the next 7 days, what is the single action you will commit to repeating? 

Write when, where, and how you’ll do it. Specific beats motivated. 

5. Track the signal, not the outcome
How will you mark completion each day? A checkmark, note, or reminder. 

You’re not tracking results yet. You’re tracking consistency. 

For more structured prompts, daily reflection space, and guided exercises to build confidence and consistency, explore the journal that pairs with our resilience work. 

👉 Awaken the Tiger and Phoenix Self-Esteem Journal 

https://www.amazon.com/Awaken-Tiger-Phoenix-build-Esteem/dp/B0DBRWTGS9

Final Thoughts: Compounding Is the Real Resolution 

As the new year begins, most resolutions fail for the same reason. They aim for dramatic change without respecting how growth actually works. Compounding offers a different path. One rooted in realism, patience, and alignment with how the mind and body adapt over time. 

This isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing less, better, and longer. When effort compounds, identity shifts. What once felt like discipline becomes routine. What felt small becomes meaningful. And what felt slow eventually becomes undeniable. 

When viewed through the Tiger Resilience framework, compounding isn’t just a strategy. It’s a way of operating. 

Purpose
Compounding gives purpose traction. It turns intention into direction by anchoring your goals to daily action. When you know why you’re moving forward, small steps stop feeling insignificant and start feeling aligned. 

Planning
Real plans respect time. Compounding shifts planning away from unrealistic timelines and toward repeatable systems. A good plan isn’t aggressive. It’s sustainable and designed to build momentum week after week. 

Practice
Practice is where compounding lives. Showing up consistently, even imperfectly, is what transforms effort into progress. The repetition matters more than the intensity. 

Perseverance
Compounding rewards those who stay in the process after motivation fades. Perseverance isn’t grinding harder. It’s continuing when results aren’t obvious yet and trusting the curve will bend if you don’t quit. 

Providence
Time amplifies what you feed it. Compounding invites humility and faith. Not in outcomes you can’t control, but in the process you can. When you do the small things well and consistently, opportunity has a way of meeting you there. 

You don’t need a dramatic reset this year. You need direction, patience, and consistency. Compounding doesn’t shout. It works quietly. And then one day, everything looks different. 

Stay Resilient, 

Tiger Resilience

📚 References 

Bloom, S. (2023). How to avoid the dark side of compounding. The Curiosity Chronicle. https://www.sahilbloom.com/newsletter/how-to-avoid-the-dark-side-of-compounding 

Bompa, T. O., & Buzzichelli, C. (2019). Periodization: Theory and methodology of training (6th ed.). Human Kinetics. 

Clear, J. (2018). Atomic habits: An easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones. Avery. 

Doidge, N. (2007). The brain that changes itself: Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science. Viking. 

Draganski, B., Gaser, C., Busch, V., Schuierer, G., Bogdahn, U., & May, A. (2004). Neuroplasticity: Changes in grey matter induced by training. Nature, 427(6972), 311–312. https://doi.org/10.1038/427311a 

Duhigg, C. (2012). The power of habit: Why we do what we do in life and business. Random House. 

Hardy, D. (2010). The compound effect. Vanguard Press. 

Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W., & Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998–1009. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.674 

Magness, S. (2023, November 10). The real power of compounding isn’t intensity, it’s consistency over time [Post]. X (formerly Twitter). https://x.com/stevemagness/status/1724115912918221207 

Medium. (n.d.). Compounding fitness and why it’s so important. Change Becomes You. https://medium.com/change-becomes-you/compounding-fitness-and-why-its-so-important-143e449ca19 

Norcross, J. C., & Vangarelli, D. J. (1989). The resolution solution: Longitudinal examination of New Year’s change attempts. Journal of Substance Abuse, 1(2), 127–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/0899-3289(89)90004-6 

Norcross, J. C., Mrykalo, M. S., & Blagys, M. D. (2002). Auld lang syne: Success predictors, change processes, and self-reported outcomes of New Year’s resolvers and nonresolvers. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58(4), 397–405. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.1150 

Stulberg, B., & Magness, S. (2017). Peak performance: Elevate your game, avoid burnout, and thrive with the new science of success. Rodale Books. 

The Growth EQ. (n.d.). The rule of compounding: Why small steps lead to big gains. https://thegrowtheq.com/the-rule-of-compounding-why-small-steps-lead-to-big-gains/ 

Verplanken, B., & Wood, W. (2006). Interventions to break and create consumer habits. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 25(1), 90–103. https://doi.org/10.1509/jppm.25.1.90