All or nothing thinking can be a viscous cycle and incredibly difficult to break. As a coach, i’ve had countless clients tell me things like:
“I ate a bag of chips and ruined my diet”
“I had a cookie and said F*$# it, and kept eating”
“We went out to dinner unexpectedly and I just couldn’t get back on track”
“My kiddo was sick and I had to skip my workout on Monday and figured my week was already ruined, why keep trying”
And so on.
It can feel useless to keep trying when things go wrong. We go through thought processes like “why bother”, “this is ruined now – so who cares”, and so many other negatives. But what if you changed that mindset? What if you were like Elastigirl and stayed flexible?
I bet that would take a lot of pressure off. I even bet you would be able to make progress towards your goals!
Changing your mindset- like most things you learn, takes time and practice. You likely will never be perfect 100% of the time. At sticking to your plan, at allowing the not so good days to be what they are and moving on. No one’s ever perfect. But that’s the point isnt it. That we’re human. That we’re trying. That we’re just working to be better than we were the day before.
The next time you find yourself in an “F-it” scenario – I want you to ask yourself these questions.
“If one of my tires was flat, would I slash the rest of them?”
“If I was late to work by 15 minutes, would I just hand in my resignation instead?”
“If there was a small chip in my car windshield, would I just take a sledgehammer to the rest of the car?”
They sound silly right? Who in their right mind would slash three perfectly good tires because one of them was flat? I bet not a lot of people.
It’s the age old saying – making a mountain out of a mole hill. When we see exaggerated things like these we can recognize it. We know that it’s irrational. But when it’s things that arnt as flashy, we have a more difficult time realizing what we’re doing.
So the next time you’re telling yourself that you already ruined the day by having that donut. I want you to really look at it over the grand scheme of things. Because I guarantee you didn’t ruin anything.
You know what did ruin it though? That all or nothing thinking. Your health journey does not have to be one or the other. It does not have to be all organic veggies, with tofu, free range organic grass fed beef, with peanut butter you made yourself from your garden. Because for 99.999% of the population it’s not realistic and fretting over it will only create stress – which too much of can be unhealthy.
Be like elastigirl – have the chicken and veggies as a dinner. But allow for a donut once in a while. Or a couple of oreos. Or anything else you really find joy in. Because too much of a good or bad thing – is just that. Too much. This is all about finding your balance and being able to find a sustainable way forward.
Will it be easy? No.
Like I said – it takes practice.
When you stop the cycle of getting on and off track because of that all or nothing thinking, and just take each day as it come this really amazing thing happens. You’re able to shake off those “bad” days and just get back to it the next day. No guilt need apply. No diet ruined. No health journey up in flames. Just a human being trying their hardest and doing their best. Giving each day their all and seeing the progress build.
You’ve GOT this.
