All or Nothing Mentality

One of the biggest barriers to getting started on health journey plan is having an all-or-nothing mentality.  Having an “all or nothing” mentality is one of the negative thought patterns that split outcomes into extremes.  In life there are many things that lie in the gray areas.  The journey to improving your health is one that will have some setbacks, but it is a process that allows you to move closer to your goal one day at a time.  Many of you, along with many of my clients, have tried other weight loss programs and achieved only short-lived results.  So why would you try again?  

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Here is why: Your failures do not define you.  They highlight areas that need improvement and planning so you can do better.  Allow your failures to help you recognize your strengths, understand that setbacks can happen, and find the positive in situations.  Think of some real-life situations.  Have you ever failed a test and then decided to give up on the course?  Or did you work harder, focused on areas of the course that needed tutoring or improvement?  What would you tell your loved ones if they did not complete a task you asked them to do?  Would you accuse them of not caring for you? Or would you consider the conditions that may have caused the situation?  

Being able to rise up and take on a challenge when there is no guarantee for immediate success requires you to have courage and show kindness toward yourself.  When your goal seems hard to reach, do not dwell on self-defeating thoughts, stay away from using unconditional terms such as “never” or “nothing.”  Try the following tips to avoid focusing on negative thoughts:

• Try to avoid unconditional terms, such as nothing or never.
• Try to find the positive side of the situation.
• Notice when you’re thinking in black-or-white extremes if there is a possibility for any gray area.
• When you can only see one side of any situation, try to seek out support from trusted friends or family.  Often times, we can gain a different perspective from someone else. 

I have had many failures and hard times in my own health and fitness journey.  For example, training for my first marathon was challenging.  There were many days I was too busy to get my training run in.  Also, my yoga teacher training taught me that everything I thought I knew about yoga postures were wrong and I had to learn the correct postures and start over.  

The list goes on.  As your coach, I get it.  It’s hard to make lasting changes and we can often self-doubt ourselves.  In order to do this, you have to fill your space with positivity and room to allow for errors.  In my one-on-one personal coaching, I am here with you, each step of the way to remind you of how far you have come and how to take the next step forward.