5 Ways to Change An "All or Nothing" Mindset

Most humans are guilty of having had an “all or nothing” mindset when trying to to achieve a goal at some point in their lives, particularly when the goal is related to health and fitness. The unfortunate truth is that the “all or nothing” mindset or striving for perfectionism will generally set us up for failure.

Life is all about balance. We have to have the healthy choices and the less-healthy choices in order to create a lifestyle that is sustainable. It’s the sum of our small daily habits that are performed consistently over a period of time that leads to big changes.

Here are 5 tips for changing your “all or nothing” mindset around health and fitness:

Start where you are:

Rather than saying “I’ll start when life settles down” or “I’ll start in the new year”, start implementing small, easy changes now. Life will always be busy. There will always be something else that can take priority over your time so if you continue to tell yourself “I’ll start when…”, it’s likely you will never start.

If your goal is to create a healthier lifestyle, it could be as simple as asking yourself “do I need that chocolate bar I’m reaching for?”, or “could I walk to the shop to buy milk instead of driving?”. Questioning your actions and finding ways to make minor changes to the way you do something that doesn’t throw out your whole day or make your life any harder will help you make big differences over time. Change isn’t about doing one big lifestyle overhaul, its about the accumulation of small efforts over time.

Start Small:

When we decide to change something or to work towards a goal, it can be tempting to go “all in” but this isn’t realistic. Effort is the enemy of change. If something is difficult or too much effort for you to implement or maintain, it won’t last long. There needs to be a certain amount of ease or accessibility in the changes you are making in order for them to stick. Instead of making all the changes you think you need to make at once, make one small change first, stick with it for a period of time, then add another change.

Fit Healthy Choices Into Your Lifestyle:

Again, effort is the enemy of change. Why do we always try to incorporate changes into our lives that don’t actually fit in with our lifestyle? A classic example is when someone decides that they will go to the gym everyday. Between work, kids, commitments, and/or fatigue, it doesn’t take long for this new habit to fall down and once we’ve missed one day it’s then easy to miss 2,3,4 days or to never get back on track at all.

Rather than trying to fit your lifestyle around new healthy habits related to training and nutrition, fit your new habits into your lifestyle; find easy ways to incorporate the changes into the routine you already have. For example; if you know that you have every Tuesday afternoon free in your calendar, schedule a workout in that timeslot and commit to making it happen. If you know that you don’t have time to prepare your meals ahead of time, purchase pre-packed healthy meals to take to work with you for lunch.

Develop Consistency:

A change in lifestyle is developed through small habits performed consistently over time. Choose changes that are easy to stick to or to do every day without too much effort. An example could be taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator. This won’t do much for you if you only do it once, but if you do it every single day, it will cause big change over time. It will also likely have a trickle-on effect. You might start with taking the stairs at work and that may translate to you taking the stairs every time there is an option, or choosing to walk more often rather than taking the car. After doing these things consistently and repetitively for a period of time, you will no longer question it, they will become automatic.

Let Go Of Guilt:

When you have an “all or nothing” mindset, feeling guilty about taking an action that in your mind goes against the change you’re trying to make, will often cause you to give up all together. You may think “I’ve had that piece of chocolate now so I’m just going to binge for the rest of the week and start again next week”. It may not even be a conscious decision but if you’re going into it thinking that the changes are only worthwhile if you do all of them all at once and all of the time then your brain will automatically decide that there’s no point continuing if you do something that goes against those changes.

Life is about finding balance and finding actions that are sustainable for you. Don’t try to eliminate everything that brings you joy and comfort like treats, rest days, nights out, etc. Accept that those things are part of the balance. Incorporate the healthier choices in with the less-healthy choices and let go of the guilt surrounding them. It’s what you do most of the time that ultimately defines how healthy you are.

When you’re ready to take some steps toward creating healthy habits, let go of your idea of perfectionism and instead remember these 5 tips.