All or Nothing People

Ambitious people have a tendency to bite off more than we can chew. We start any new goal with the highest of expectations. We’re all or nothing people.

For instance, here’s what we do when deciding to lose weight. Broken down into blocks:

Block 1: We buy expensive paleo groceries. We sign a mental contract that says just 1 eating slip-up renders us a complete failure.
Block 2: We find the most intense (borderline dangerous) fitness routines. We tell ourselves we’ll be at the gym 6 days a week.
Block 3: We purchase brand new workout clothes. We tell ourselves we deserve these new clothes.

Most of us will fail within a month. Why? Because few people can make that many sudden changes to their lives without getting overwhelmed. Not to mention the new workout clothes start to taunt us. Reminders of another failed attempt.

Why not break each block of the weight loss goal into even smaller blocks?

For instance, instead of jumping 100% into paleo, why not start by just cutting out grains?

Instead of trying to do the most intense fitness routine 6 days a week, why not start by running 1 mile every day?

The point here is to slowly add new blocks until you’ve completed a large block. One day, you’ll look around and realize you’ve completely overhauled your life.