Kola tried the Victory Hour for eleven days. On day twelve, he slept through his alarm. On day thirteen, he told himself he would restart on Monday. He never did. Sharma would say this is completely normal — and completely predictable. Research he draws on shows that building a new habit reliably takes 66 days, not the commonly cited 21. And those 66 days are not all equal. They are divided into three stages that feel entirely different from each other. Stage 1 — Destruction (days 1 to 22): This stage is genuinely hard. Your body resists the alarm. Your mind produces reasons to quit. Every morning feels like a battle. Sharma compares it to a space shuttle launching from Earth: most of the rocket fuel is burned in the first 60 seconds, overcoming gravity. The resistance you feel in Stage 1 is not a sign you are doing something wrong. It is the neurological and biological cost of overcoming your existing patterns. Kola quit on day twelve — right in the middle of Destruction, when it is hardest. Stage 2 — Installation (days 23 to 44): The alarm still feels early, but the habit is starting to set. You have some momentum. But this stage brings its own challenge: boredom and doubt. You are no longer a complete beginner, but you are not yet consistent. The messy middle. Many people quit here too, mistaking the flatness of Stage 2 for evidence that the habit is not working. Stage 3 — Integration (days 45 to 66): The habit becomes automatic. You no longer debate whether to do it. Your body starts waking slightly before the alarm. The morning routine stops feeling like a decision and starts feeling like a default. This is neurological integration — the behaviour has been encoded into your brain's automatic patterns. The 66-Day Protocol is Sharma's answer to the most common question about habit formation: why do most people quit? Because they do not know which stage they are in. If Kola had known he was in Destruction and that Stage 2 would be easier, he might have stayed the course.