Why Waiting to Start Sets You Up For Failure

January 1st.

I’ll start my diet Monday.

Next week I will workout.

How many times have you said something like this before?

Taken for face-value, it seems like a great idea - I mean, you are setting goals, you are committing to change!

The danger lies in the space from now until you have made the commitment to change.

Tell yourself that you’re going to start eating healthy on January 1st, and you’ll start eating everything you’re about to give up “just one last time”. Normally, you would have eaten one cookie after dinner, but since you wont be having any in a few days, you might as well eat 3 now. This type of subconscious goal setting sets you up for “all or nothing” thinking; setting you up for self sabotage instead of success.

The All or Nothing Trap

All or Nothing thinking is dictated by scarcity. You’ve led your brain to believe that you have limited resources, so you had better take advantage of every single opportunity while you can. So, you eat the cookies, skip the workout, spend the money, and engage in every time of self sabotaging behaviour simply because, you can

Yet when we go into scarcity thinking, we neglect long term logic, and focus on the short term feel good. I have $100 now, so I better spend it on something before it’s gone, rather than storing it to generate more interest, which actually creates more security in the long run. Or, someone gave you a fresh tray of baking, so you had better eat it now so that you only have one “bad day” of eating, and not ruin tomorrow too.

Your scarce thinking might be deeply ingrained; perhaps you were afraid of losing love, abandonment, or grew up with little money. Or, you had a self loathing mother and picked up her all or nothing thinking. The root of the cause doesn’t matter so much as your ability to overcome it.

Scarcity is a subconscious emotion, and in order to overcome it, you must live consciously.

You don’t have to stop setting goals, but set them more wisely. The better you know yourself, the better you can set yourself up for success.

If you’re prone to overeating before committing to a healthier lifestyle, get the junk out of the house, or allow yourself a small serving once a day. If you continuously find excuses to avoid exercise because you know come the New Year you will get into a routine, convince yourself to get a head start and exercise once or twice to ease into it.

The best time to set a goal was yesterday, but the best time to act on it, is today.

You don’t need to start waiting “until Monday”, in fact, it could be doing you more damage. As you set your goals, resolutions, and commitments, decide what you can do right now, this very day, to become more of the person you want to be.

This might mean being more honest in your conversations, choosing a salad over fries, or simply forcing yourself to think of the long term benefit over the short term gratification.

As you focus on becoming the best version of you in 2019, focus on consistency over perfection, allow yourself the occasional little treats to avoid the all or nothing mentality, and embrace the struggle. Being a better you isn’t going to come easily or naturally; if it did, you’d already be that person. Commit to the results, commit to being honest with yourself, and continue to ask yourself the question, “If I had already achieved this, what choice would I make right now?”. There is no more powerful thinking, than putting yourself into the mind of someone who makes the choices you need to make to be the person you want to be.

Struggle with all or nothing thinking? It took me years to overcome it. I’m sharing my 5 steps to creating confidence and courage (and my top health, exercise and positive mental health tips) in an upcoming Meant for More masterclass training. Click here to register!