‘I’m either all in or I don’t do anything at all’.

I continued to dig deeper, ‘How come?’

‘It’s just how I’m wired,’ she replied.

I took a deep breath.

‘Okay, let’s start with where we are now’. I answered.

The interesting thing about the all or nothing mentality?

It doesn’t take us as far as we’d like it to.

When it comes to creating permanent and sustainable transformation in your vegan fitness - you’ll need strategies that are permanent and sustainable.

Yet, most of us believe that our health, body, or fitness problems are due to how we work (or don’t), the foods we eat (or not), or something in our fitness routine.

Yes, strategy is important.

Doing the right workouts to shred fat and tone up is important.

And yes, eating the right foods, in the correct quantity, the right way is important.

This doesn’t diminish the importance of the correct prescription in your health & fitness strategy.

But it highlights one problem: how we think about ourselves.

When we approach our health & fitness with the attitude or belief that ‘I’m going to go HARD and ALL in OR I’ll give up’ or the belief that ‘No pain, no gain’ or ‘I’m going to go fast as possible until I can’t anymore,’ we’re setting ourselves up for failure.

This was my default pattern for years.

Growing up in a strict military household with an ex-marine as the household leader and stepfather, I learned to suppress how I felt early on.

I brought this into my athletic endeavors in my teens and early 20s and continued this pattern for nearly a decade.

‘I’ve just got to BE HARD on myself long enough and then I’ll stop’, I would think.

Yet, what gets you to your FIRST level of results won’t get you to your next level.

Dropping 20 lbs isn’t the hard part.

It’s learning how to retain the results and KEEP the inches, fat tissue, and weight off.

That’s what I had to learn to rewire within myself.

And it’s part of why we teach so heavily on the right mentalities and correct emotional management daily inside VFR.

You can’t outrun a poor belief system that drags you down.

It will always catch up to you.

So, what's the opposite of all or nothing?

And how can you stop self-sabotage?

By focusing on progress over perfection.

By redirecting your focus towards your behaviors completed rather than perfect actions.

Here's a great example from another one of our students:

‘I’ve completed my first 100 workouts’.

I’ve wondered what the best part of coaching is.

And thought about what I enjoyed the most.

One of my favorite parts about the coaching process isn’t just the pounds, inches, or body composition changes.

Yes, the results and outcomes are great.

And it’s motivating watching inches slide off while fitting into long unused clothes.

But equally as enjoyable?

Hearing clients share that they’ve hit their first 100 workouts (or some clients sharing they’ve hit their first 1000th workout).

Hearing that a student has broken free from emotional eating and can eat peacefully.

Or a client who’s stopped self-sabotage and can fit into her little black dress again.

Or a student who’s created a positive self-image that he can feel confident with when he looks in the mirror.

Or a client who’s fallen in love with her workouts after hating exercise her whole life.

Outcomes are an important part of the coaching process.

But so are our behaviors.

James Clear, in his book Atomic Habits, has a powerful insight into why behaviors are important:

When we look at our daily actions - we can start to see who we truly are.

And this gives you back your power.

Breaking the all-or-nothing mentality comes down to two actions:

1. Notice your current beliefs
2. Decide on a new set of empowering beliefs

Don't make this difficult.

And if you're struggling or having challenges with this - send me a message anytime.

Happy to send any relevant resource I might have to help out.

Keep on going,

​

- Gabriel

Whenever you're ready, there are two ways I can help you:

#1 Join our free high-performance fitness FB group to get access to dozens of free live trainings recorded, plus a tight-knit group of leaders who want to become healthy role models.

#2 Are you a high achiever who wants to be lean, strong, and lead by example? Apply for private 1:1 coaching and get in the best shape of your life (2-week waiting list).