All or nothing is a mindset I learned in sports from a very young age. The premise behind this phrase is good for sports, but for life it doesn’t fit as well. It leaves room for excuses and faulty thinking. When you live by the all or nothing premise in the real world, you will probably fail due to burnout or just give up. For example, if I wanted to lose 50 pounds, the all or nothing principal would teach me I either have to go all out and accomplish my goal quickly, or do nothing at all. This mindset leads to fear which in turn causes inaction. People will put off what makes them uncomfortable especially when the all or nothing pressure is on them. You hear excuses like, “I’m not ready to do that”, or “I’ll start next week”. These lame excuses are common and arise from the all or nothing principle we are taught when we are young playing sports. Instead of all or nothing, replace the phrase with always something. This leaves a lot more room for growth over the course of time.
The “always something” principle explained
Always something is an approach to life that implies progress instead of instant results. There is no magic thing you can do to achieve all your goals quickly just like there is no magic pill to instantly lose weight. It’s about taking consistent action over a long period of time rather than trying to do something all at once. It is impossible to build a business in a day or lose 50 pounds in a week. The always something principle takes the approach that if you do something every day to reach your ultimate desired outcome, you will eventually get there without burning out. It will also reinforce positive habits that will become routine for you over time making you more successful. If you go on a 15-minute jog every morning, this will instill that habit into your routine making it into something you just do. The all or nothing principle tells you to run for three hours a day every day to lose weight fast which in turn causes one to either burn out or give up quickly. It’s all about sustainability and consistent action rather than drastic action and high intensity.
Consistent action and New Habit Forming
Consistent action is the key to finding success at anything. People always use the excuse they don’t have time. ” I want to invest in stocks but I don’t have time to learn about them”. ” I want to lose weight but I don’t have the time to work out”. These excuses are all too common in our society. We hear the “I don’t have time” excuse all the time. This is a poisonous statement because you are convincing your brain you don’t have the time to do something when in reality everyone has time for something they really want to do. This belief stems from the all or nothing principle. What I mean by this is that people think they have to learn something in a day, or lose weight in a day when that is not only impossible, but simply untrue! Consistent action is the key to doing anything you want to do. In my own life right now, consistent action is helping me reach my goals. I am in the process of launching my next Amazon product right now. I am using the always something principle to accomplish this. With real estate and everything else I have going on right now, it is easy for me to say I’m too busy to launch another product right now. Instead of making this excuse, I have taken 15-30 minutes every day to accomplish a small part of what I want to get done. During my time slot one day, I may start writing the copyright for the listing. The next day I may get in contact with my supplier to schedule a shipment. The next day I may add my photos from the product photoshoot to the listing. Eventually, this consistent action will lead to a thorough Amazon product launch. I am not cramming it into one day or night. I am simply taking action to complete it piece by piece every day. This is how you build successful things, become healthy, and learn the things you want to learn without having time.
Why all or nothing fails in real life
The all or nothing principle can be used for sports in many instances, but for life it can be misleading and deceptive. Sure, if it is fourth down during a football game and you are going for it, it is definitely all or nothing. But when you are trying to build yourself and develop habits, this principle couldn’t be further from sound advice. Taking consistent action and doing things over the course of time will help develop positive habits and tendencies in your life, and accomplish things you would really like to do. Don’t make excuses. Taking a small step everyday will outlast one large leap in the long run!