Have you ever found yourself saying “I only got one workout in this week, what was the point?!”
Or, “I only have 10 minutes to get a workout in, I probably shouldn’t even start. It’s not worth it.”
Or, “I have to workout for at least an hour or it doesn’t really count.”
If you’ve found yourself uttering this (or something like it) at some point, you’re not alone.
All or nothing thinking – and the perfectionist mentality that goes along with it – is rampant in the motherhood community. And postpartum fitness is no exception.
It’s easy to put pressure on yourself to be perfect and “do good/be good” at all times.
You gotta workout this many times, in this way or it doesn’t “count”. It’s not “worth it”.
And I know you know that this mentality isn’t giving you that feel good “I’m doing amazing!” feeling. You know it’s wrecking havoc on your joy and confidence.
But do you know exactly how it’s hurting you? And – more importantly – do you know how to stop it?
All or nothing mentality not only impacts your ability to get results, it also corrodes your mental health.
It impacts your ability to get results because it makes it harder for you to actually reach your goals.
If you’re constantly waiting for the perfect moment to workout, you’re constantly missing absolutely okay opportunities to exercise.
If it doesn’t feel worth it to workout in that way, or you don’t want to start unless you can get in a full 30-45 minute workout, it makes it a lot easier to just not do anything.
And if you aren’t working out unless conditions are perfect, then when are you working out?
If you keep waiting for a week where you know you’ll have time to get 3 workouts in, or a day where you have an hour-long block totally free that you can dedicate to exercise, how long will you be waiting?
Some movement is better than no movement.
“Only” getting in one workout this week is better than getting no workouts in this week.
You don’t have to get 2 or more workouts in a week to make it worth it. You don’t have to workout for 30-45 minutes for it to count.
If you keep letting this all or nothing mentality stand in your way, you’re going to reach the end of the year and have zero workouts done.
But if you let good enough be good enough and run with the idea that it’s totally okay to “only” get one workout in a week, by the end of the year you’ll have done 52 workouts.
Zero vs Fifty-two.
What sounds better to you?
I thought so.
This mentality also makes it easy for you to go to the extremes from a mental-health standpoint.
If you’re not doing exactly what you said you would do, then you’ve failed.
If you’re not perfect, then you’re a failure.
If you got 2 workouts in this week but you said you’d get 3 done, then obviously you were crazy to think you could ever do anything right so why bother?
You get the point, right?
This self-talk is vicious. You know you’d never, ever talk to your kiddo this way.
So why is it okay to talk to yourself in this way?
You’re setting unreasonably high expectations on yourself and making it impossible for you to ever be good enough because you’re never going to measure up to your high standards.
So don’t discount 95% of the effort you’re putting in because you’re not perfect 5% of the time.
Don’t assume you’re “wasting your time”, when you’re actually making better strides than you would if you weren’t doing anything at all.
Anything short of 100% does not have to equal 0%.
A week (or 20) throughout the year where you only get one workout in won’t erase all your past effort or make you a failure.
It makes you human.
It makes you a busy mom who’s doing the best she can with the time and energy she has.
It makes you stronger because at least you’re doing something with the limited time you do have.
So the next time you find yourself saying “Why bother?!” stop that thought in its tracks and say “Because every bit matters. And I don’t have to be perfect to get amazing results.”
Because that’s the truth.
Results aren’t born from perfection.
Results are born from consistency overtime – sometimes a long time.
Remember, one workout a week leads to 52 workouts a year.
That’s gonna give you a heck of a lot better results than zero workouts ever will.
Hugs,
Jen
P.S. Have a mom friend who needs to read this? Send it her way!
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