I’m going to tell you a story about a client that I’ll never forget. We’ll call her Tanya.
When we first started working together, Tanya made amazing progress and achieved solid results with her nutrition coaching to fix digestive issues. Then, she disappeared for a while and came back months later feeling defeated and frustrated for falling off track.
Her uncomfortable symptoms returned and she reverted back to old habits of sacrificing her health and nutrition for others. Tanya wanted to do an overhaul and “get back into it.” She was ready to do whatever it would take.
Rather than making extreme changes, we talked about why that approach had only worked for a short time before, and that we needed to work on her mindset to approach things differently this time.
Together, we worked on developing sustainable habits that fit into Tanya’s busy lifestyle and didn’t require her to sacrifice her health for the sake of others. Most importantly, we worked on mindset shifts and the importance of prioritizing self-care.
Over time, Tanya began to see progress once again, but this time it was different. She wasn’t just feeling better, but her mindset had shifted. Tanya realized that taking care of herself wasn’t meant to be extreme or rigid. It was flexible, practical, and adaptable.
Tanya is an example of the common all-or-nothing mindset that many people struggle with when it comes to nutrition and wellness. If you’ve ever struggled with similar struggles regarding your health and wellness goals, you’re not alone.
Many people fall into the trap of thinking they have to make sweeping, drastic changes in order to see results. But as Tanya’s story shows, this approach often leads to burnout, frustration, and ultimately giving up on goals altogether.
In this post, we’ll explore the concept of an all-or-nothing mindset and why it can be so harmful to progress. You’ll learn practical strategies for overcoming this mindset and how to build sustainable, healthy habits that can last a lifetime.
Ready to ditch the all-or-nothing mindset? Keep reading!
What is an All-or-Nothing Mindset?
If you have trouble embracing the “gray area,” and instead prefer things to be either 100% perfect or complete failure, you might struggle with all-or-nothing thinking.
It’s dichotomous thinking, a sort of cognitive distortion that can oversimplify complex issues by placing options on two opposite sides, without considering any middle ground or alternatives.
It’s thinking situations are either…
- Good or bad
- Right or wrong
- Success or failure
- True or false
The issue with this is that situations in life are rarely black or white. There are so many shades of gray (and color, of course) and nuances to everything. There are endless factors that play into making decisions, which is why it’s hard to choose what to do sometimes.
The Problem with All-or-Nothing Thinking
While an “in or out” mindset can be helpful at times to push yourself or make a quick decision, it’s often more limiting, inflexible, and not realistic.
I see this in my nutrition coaching clients who have struggled with yo-yo dieting for years. They’ve either been committed and “on track” or have “fallen off the wagon.” It becomes a tough cycle to break when someone doesn’t learn how to be flexible and adaptable when working towards a goal.
Maintaining an all-or-nothing mindset isn’t practical. As humans, we all have our flaws, and errors and setbacks are bound to happen. They’re how we learn and grow.
Adopting a rigid mindset that only recognizes perfection inadvertently sabotages yourself by refusing to learn from your mistakes. Sustainable growth requires us to acknowledge and embrace setbacks, and leverage them as opportunities for improvement.
Although it can be challenging to accept our shortcomings and learn from our mistakes, it allows us to achieve greater success.
For example, let’s say you’re training for a 5K run/walk. Something comes up and you’re unable to jog for a day. If you have a rigid mindset, you might think, “Well, I messed up and missed a day, which throws off the plan, so I’ll just stop jogging. I’m done.”
This thought pattern leads to feelings of defeat, guilt, and shame, which zap motivation and make it hard to see opportunities to overcome the challenge at hand. When you’re defeated, you’re down and done. This comes from all-or-nothing thinking.
Does Your Mindset Affect Your Health?
Having an all-or-nothing mindset can have a significant impact on both your physical and mental health. When you view things as either perfect or complete failure, it can create a cycle of starting over again and again, which can be exhausting and demotivating.
This could look like what follows a slip-up when trying to stick to a healthy eating plan. If you throw in the towel and start over the next day, this mindset creates a cycle of repeated failures and attempts to start over.
A rigid mindset can also lead to extremes and restrictiveness in your approach to health. Such as, if you’re trying to lose weight, you might set unrealistic goals and severely restrict your food intake. This can be harmful to your physical health and lead to disordered eating and exercise patterns.
The negative impact of all-or-nothing thinking is not just limited to physical health, but also affects mental health, relationships, and self-esteem. When you constantly view yourself as a failure or not good enough, it can lead to feelings of shame, guilt, and anxiety.
This, in turn, can affect your relationships with others, as you might become defensive or distant to avoid feeling vulnerable or exposed. It’s pretty clear that these thought patterns can negatively impact many aspects of your health and self-care.
It doesn’t have to though! You have the ability to take control of your mindset. Before we dive into that, the first step is self-awareness.
Spot the Signs
Rigid thinking is pretty common. Do a quick check-in with the points below to see if it’s something you’ve experienced, especially when it comes to personal wellness and self-care habits.
Examples of all-or-nothing thinking
- If you can’t do a full workout, there’s no point in doing any exercise at all.
- If you have a piece of cake, you’ve “ruined” the day, so you might as well eat “junk food.”
- If you can’t stick to a strict diet, there’s no point in trying to eat balanced at all.
- If you miss one day of meditation, you’ve failed at your mindfulness practice.
- If you’re not taking care of yourself, you’re not worthy of self-care or love.
- If you can’t follow a strict sleep schedule every day, you might as well not try to improve your sleep habits at all.
- If you have to cancel a coffee date, you’re a bad friend.
Do any of these sound like you? Take look at where this might come from.
Where does this mindset come from?
It’s important to understand that this type of thinking isn’t your fault, and there are many potential causes and contributing factors.
- Perfectionism: having high and often unrealistic expectations for yourself
- Fear of failure: being afraid of making mistakes or failing
- Trauma history: needing to be in complete control to feel safe
- Cultural and societal expectations: valuing success and achievement
- Personal beliefs and values: needing things to be done right or not at all
Know that an all-or-nothing mindset is not a character flaw or personal failing. Instead, it’s a thought pattern that has developed over years and can be changed with awareness and practice.
In one of my favorite behavior change books, Dr. Michelle Segar writes, “How we think about things determines how we see them, experience them, and ultimately determines our future related choices.”
When this comes to our ability to be flexible, it means that the more opportunities you are able to see in a challenging situation, the better choices you’re able to make.
By identifying the underlying causes and working to shift your thinking patterns, you can break free from this limiting mindset and create a more flexible and compassionate approach to life.
5 Strategies for Overcoming an All-or-Nothing Mindset
- Recognize and challenge rigid thinking patterns. Notice when the thoughts come up, pause, explore alternatives, and look for the opportunity. This mindfulness can help you stay present in the moment and be more aware of your thoughts and emotions.
- Practice self-compassion. When you make a mistake or experience a setback, it’s important to be kind and compassionate to yourself. Instead of beating yourself up, try speaking to yourself as you would a struggling friend. This can help you develop a more flexible and forgiving mindset.
- Set smaller, realistic goals: Instead of striving for unrealistic and perfectionistic goals, try setting actionable and achievable goals that build up to bigger accomplishments. This can help you build confidence and momentum, and avoid the cycle of starting over again and again, especially when you celebrate the small wins!
- Embrace flexibility and imperfection: Challenge yourself to find a middle ground and recognize that we’re all human and make mistakes. Instead of thinking in absolutes, try to embrace flexibility and openness to different outcomes.
- Seek support: It can be helpful to talk to a therapist or counselor who can help you work through the underlying causes of your all-or-nothing mindset. They can also provide guidance and support as you work to shift your thinking patterns.
To Recap
It’s common to have an all-or-nothing mindset, especially when it comes to our personal health habits. Complex plans, rigid guidelines, and 30-day challenges have taught us that we are either in or out when it comes to wellness.
However, this type of thinking is limiting, inflexible, and unrealistic when it comes to actually taking care of ourselves. This is one of the reasons why it’s so hard to break the cycle of starting over again and again.
It’s not your fault if you struggle with these thought patterns. With a little extra mindfulness and prioritizing progress over perfection, you can absolutely create sustainable habits that support all aspects of your physical and mental health.
Breaking free from an all-or-nothing mindset takes time and practice. Be patient and kind to yourself as you work towards a more flexible and compassionate approach to life.
