Today I want to talk about something that I still struggle with myself in some areas of my life. Which annoys me! BUT I am becoming more and more aware of it and once you are aware, you can stop things in their track or avoid them altogether.
What I’m talking about is All-or-Nothing Thinking!
I’m sure you’ve been there. I know most people have. I have a lot of conversations that start with something like this:
“Jen, I really want to make changes in my life! So I bought this fitness program. But it’s five times a week. I don’t have the time for this!”
So what do they do? They either quit after a week or they don’t even start the program. And this is what makes me really sad. Because I can tell this person wants to make changes, she wants to be healthier, she wants to lose weight but she gets discouraged. For different reasons.
Most people compare their own journey to others who are probably on a very different level than they are. If you haven’t worked out in a few years and then try to complete the same workout Debbie Dumbbell, the fittest girl on IG, does five times a week, of course, you’ll feel miserable. But Debbie Dumbbell has been working out for decades. She didn’t start out like this! But you don’t see that. All you see is her moving her perfect body seemingly effortlessly and you huffing and puffing after five jumping jacks.
So stop! Stop comparing yourself to others! Stop trying to start at level 100 when you should be starting at the beginning. You wouldn’t attempt to run a marathon without being able to complete a 5k first, would you?!
And the second reason people give up is, they think if I don’t go all in, it doesn’t make sense, so why even try! Again, all-or-nothing thinking.
But the truth is: Every little step brings you closer towards your goal. If 15 minutes of walking a few times a week is all you can do at the beginning then that’s totally fine! Once you get used to it and it doesn’t feel challenging anymore, you can add another day or make the walks longer.
Start small, build momentum, and you’ll be able to keep going. Start big and you’ll crash before you know it. The choice is yours!