All or Nothing

 All or Nothing 

If you know me, I tend to hit the ground running when it comes to things that I am working on, with an all or nothing mentality. That mindset usually ends with a crash and burn. My wife Annette is incredibly consistent and has this superpower to be able to not work for things, but make things work for her. She understands you do not have to dive in head first into a 5k swim at 50m sprint pace. I, on the other hand, am all about the cold turkey approach. I can't even tell you how many times I have started something and then stopped and then started because I bit off way more than I could chew. For example, I might say I am going to start working out, eat healthy, get up early, no cheat meals, no candy or soda… and the list would go on. Halfway through the week, I do half of what I wanted and end up back at Taco Bell. That is when the all or nothing really hits. I gave up because I did not follow my goal perfectly.

That was my cycle, and I was so good at it. I was trying to just fix everything all at one time. I know the formula, and all the things I want to change are actually really good. The challenge for me, and others, is that taking it all on at once shoves your body into shock mode. If a person is not mentally prepared for sudden behavior changes the brain fights much harder to get back to normal. 

When I started in January 2023, I just wanted to find a way to be consistent. I did not start the same as usual this time. My alarm trick would be the snowball and man did it pick up speed fast. For the first week I was just getting up. That is all I wanted to accomplish, I did not need to work out or have meals prepped. It was all about getting up. I nailed it and it felt great. Then the next week I hit the gym for the first time in a long time. As I progressed everything started to naturally fall into place. My workouts felt so great I did not want to ruin them by eating garbage all the time. I started to change my diet naturally. Snowball is getting bigger and bigger as it rolls. At this point in my life, I have never been more consistent with my fitness goals. 

 Here are three things that have helped me maintain consistency. 

1. Give yourself grace - you do not need to be perfect in your plan. Just keep progressing (momentum and speed) If you miss something, that is not the end, it is an opportunity to evaluate what tripped you up and how to adjust your thinking. For me, if I eat Taco Bell, I am ok with it. I just know that I have pushed my results goal out a little further. I accept that and move on. 

2. Always fall back to your One Thing. It helps align you back to your goal and helps keep that feeling of consistency. It is like a fall-back plan or safety net. I had a big life change about 6 months ago. Once again, my routine was changed. For about a week, I was back to struggling to get up. So, I changed the location of my second alarm. I placed it in the workout room in our house. My wife is up and working out every day before 4 am. I know it will drive her crazy if my alarm continues to chime. It took me one week to get back on track.  Throughout the times I would struggle I knew I had not hit snooze since January 18th, 2023, and I was not going to give up that streak. Hold on to your One Thing. 

3. Celebrate your successes. We get so caught up in our failures that we forget about all the great things we have accomplished. I am great at tearing myself down which usually results in failing to meet my goals. I sometimes celebrate my successes with a nice cold refreshing Baja Blast Mountain Dew. The best thing is that this would normally throw me into a tailspin to indulge my inner need for Taco Bell more frequently. I am learning how to embrace that I have worked hard to get where I am. All Taco Bell jokes aside, the longer I go the more I celebrate with more healthy choices. I celebrate making it to the gym with a nice relaxed sit in the sauna. I love the sauna and it feels like a reward for all my hard work. Or first thing when I get in my truck to leave for the gym at 4:45am, I get to pop open my energy drink. I look forward to it as soon as my eyes crack open. There is no reward too small or too big. Enjoy the successes of your progress and journey. 

I saw this on facebook and thought it was a perfect fit.

Remember sticking to One Thing is important to consistency. I promise if you pick it and stick to it your One Thing will become the pillar of your fitness or life journey to improve.

Next week, I will talk about how incredible the body can be when a person adds consistent healthy behaviors to their lives.