Forget The All Or Nothing Approach. Small Steps Are The Key To Lasting Results!
When you decide to start working on your healthy habits, it’s tempting to want to jump right in and change everything all at once. That’s what most people think of as “starting a workout program” or “going on a diet”.
So many people feel like they have to be either “all in” or do nothing. I understand that.
When you set a goal you want to see results as quickly as possible, and the best way to do that is to do everything at once, right?
Well, if you want long-term results, going “all in” and doing everything at once is likely to blow up in your face.
When you aim for all or nothing, you usually get nothing.
Why The All Or Nothing Approach Doesn’t Work
Here’s how this usually goes with eating habits: You start a diet. It says you have to cut out all sugar, give up the carbs you love, and eat lean protein and vegetables at every meal.
You vow to do it this time. You throw out all your junk food and buy lots of veggies. You tell your family you won’t be getting takeout anymore. You stock your desk with healthy snacks.
After a few weeks of struggling with cravings and going to bed hungry, you go out one weekend and overindulge. You feel guilty. The next day is someone’s birthday at work and you eat a donut, which turns into 2, or 3, or 4. Why not, since you’ve already ruined your diet?
I’ve seen the exact same pattern with exercise – clients who decide they’re going to suddenly start working out 6 days a week, white-knuckle it for a few weeks, inevitably miss a workout and completely abandon their plan.
This is the exact wrong mindset for long-term success.
How Can Making Small Changes Help You Stick To Your Healthy Habits?
The big difference between the all-or-nothing approach and the small-steps approach is what happens after you eat a not-so-healthy food or miss a workout.
No matter how committed you are, no matter how strong your willpower or how perfect your plan may be, there will always be obstacles. At some point you will have a lapse, no matter how hard you try to avoid it. It’s going to happen.
If you’ve been restricting and depriving yourself, there’s a good chance that you’ll allow that one slip-up to snowball into something bigger, and before you know it you’re “off” your diet or workout program.
If you’ve been taking the slow and steady approach, making one small change at a time and being flexible about your healthy habits, you’re more likely to recognize that slip-up for what it really is; a tiny bump in a long road that leads towards your overall goals.
You’ll be able to get right back on track and take the next opportunity to make a healthy choice.
A Better Mindset For A Sustainable Healthy Lifestyle
Don’t completely change your diet, your lifestyle, or your exercise habits all at once. Instead, start where you are and take small steps in the right direction.
Rather than trying to give up your favorite foods altogether, try to make them a little better.
What if you make your favorite burrito meal a little healthier by adding more beans and avocado? What if you swap just one of your daily sodas with water? You could use whole grain bread for your usual turkey sandwich instead of white bread.
Rather than jumping into an intense workout program, what if you do a quick 10 minute workout while watching your usual evening tv show, go for a short walk at lunch, or start taking the stairs each morning?
Each of these steps move you a little closer to your goals without making you feel like you have to give something up or get overwhelmed by a lot of rapid change. Then you can slowly build on each small step.
Along the way you’ll build healthy habits and skills, which will allow you to do even more. Soon you’ll be achieving your goals, permanently.
If You Need Help
To help you set effective goals and create action plans to achieve them, download my FREE Goal-Setting Guide. This eBook walks you, step-by-step, through the process of setting the kind of goals you'll actually achieve and making plans to ensure you follow through.