We have a tendency to think in terms of all-or-nothing when what can help us reach our goals more effectively is thinking and doing in terms of small steps of progress.

For instance, many times when people want to get rid of weight, they throw themselves into a particular way of eating and manage to follow that way of eating for a few days, or a few weeks, or for some, even a few months. Inevitably, though, the initial motivation to follow said way of eating to reach a particular goal weight is often lost over those first few days, few weeks, or few months and people return to their original way of doing things. Then, something sparks an interest or a need or a should inside of them and they go after their weight again, only to fall back into old patterns and ways of doing things once again. This is true in more than just getting rid of weight, but it is a predominant example that many people can relate to.

So, how do you make life-long lifestyle changes? The answer is simple. Stop the all-or-nothing thinking and doing! Yes, it's that simple. That doesn't mean the solution is easy, though. It takes a complete shift in mindset to begin to effect life-long changes.

Here is an example outside of getting rid of weight...

I had been doing a plank workout once a week for about 8 weeks. It was a 15 minute workout that I had to really work to convince myself I wanted to do just one time per week. I really wanted to be doing a plank workout everyday, but when I thought in terms of how hard I had to motivate myself to do the 15 minute workout, I knew I would not follow through with an everyday plank workout if I kept trying to do it the way I was. I had some thinking to do and I had to be honest with myself in that thinking.

A couple things I know about me...

 

If I want to get something done that I have to motivate myself to do, it is important that it is one of the first things I do when I wake up.

When I jump in head first and go after something in an all-or-nothing manner, I will become overwhelmed and I will quit.

With these things in mind, I decided that at soon as I woke up in the morning, I would grab my watch, get it set to a strength workout, go to a designated spot in my home to do my planks, do xxx amount of planks for xxx amount of time per plank with recovery in between for a total of 5 minutes. Now, 5 minutes doesn't seem like a long time, but to set myself up for success, I knew it was the place for me to start.

The entire first week I did 2 planks held for 45 seconds and 2 push-up planks held for 30 seconds with recovery in between and I finished in 5 minutes. When I thought I might like to up the time of any of the plank holds, I did not. The reason I didn't is because I was still fighting with myself to get down and do them in the first place. It was not time, yet, to up anything. I needed time to develop success over the first week doing exactly what I was doing.

Week 2, I upped the time I was holding the push-up planks to 45 seconds and maintained the 45 second hold on the traditional planks. This took my workout to about 5 and 1/2 minutes. Again, anytime I was tempted to increase anything, I made the choice to keep the workout the same length so that I reinforced within myself the success at that level.

Week 3, I increased the time of the traditional planks to a full minute and maintained the 45 seconds for push-up planks. My overall time now is just over 6 and 1/2 minutes. This week is dedicated to working within this amount of time to, again, reinforce success.

Week 4 I will increase the push-up planks to a full 60 seconds while maintaining 60 seconds in the traditional planks.

Taking these seemingly baby steps in progress has helped motivate me to do my workout every morning and I am becoming less begrudging about it. I haven't yet started looking forward to it, but I know that is around the corner based on my previous experiences in how I respond when I do something whether I want to or not because I know that doing it supports my life-long lifestyle change goals.

Applying small habit changes to eating can be as simple as choosing to eat mindfully at every meal, meaning not doing anything else while you are eating like watching TV or playing on the computer; slowing down and chewing your food more slowly; conversing with friends/family over a meal and taking time to eat; allowing the satiation signals to get from your stomach to your brain that say, "Hey, I'm getting full! It's time to stop."; actually tasting your food instead of inhaling it; taking smaller bites to slow you down.

These are but a few of the options that can get you started with life-long lifestyle changes that support long-term success through small, do-able steps that support continual progress. If you have any questions, ask in the comment section and I will respond. If you want to share some of your experiences in all-or-nothing thinking/doing or experiences in taking small steps toward your goals, please do!