The Power of Small Efforts in Your Fitness Journey
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What if perfectionism is holding you back from reaching your fitness potential? In this episode of Embrace Your Real, I dive into the all-or-nothing mentality that often derails our progress before we even realize it.
Whether it's skipping workouts because you don’t have time for a full session, or feeling discouraged by a single misstep, this mindset can leave you stuck. In reality, small, consistent efforts can have a huge impact over time.
(00:00) Breaking the All or Nothing Mentality
(1:43) Embracing Small Wins in Your Fitness Journey
(07:35) Promoting Self-Acceptance
And more!
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Transcript:
[00:00:00] Hey, beautiful human. Can I steal five minutes of your time? I have something super important to share with you, but I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly bonus episode of Embrace Your Real with Me. Do I better? I'm about to give you a quick tip for building your confidence, honoring your body and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned. If you're ready to embrace a real. Let's get it. Let's go. Hello and welcome back to another bonus episode. I have a little heart to heart about something that kind of trips so many of us up on our fitness journey, and that is this all or nothing mentality. You know, the feeling where you think you if you can't do everything perfectly, then you're not going to do it at all. Like, why bother at all if I can't do it perfectly? Like maybe you missed a workout or a couple of workouts or you overindulge on your favorite food and then suddenly you feel like your whole day or week or month is ruined. If it sounds familiar, it's time to break free from that mindset and find this balanced approach that keeps you moving forward even when life isn't perfect. So that's what I want to chat about in today's bonus episode. But before I do, I have a favor to ask you. If you could scooch over to Apple podcast and liberating interview. That would mean the absolute world to me and our team just kind of know how the podcast is helping you. Maybe the podcast in general, how it's helping you, or maybe there's a very specific episode that you're like, I remember listening to this episode and it just really hit me and I learned X, Y, and Z, or We're always open and love to hear your feedback. So if you could scooch over to Apple Podcasts, type it, embrace you're out. First, make sure to subscribe so that you never miss an episode, and then you can scroll all the way down and leave our rating and review. Okay, so let me dive into this heart to heart with you. I think that you are going to find this very beneficial if you are struggling with this all or nothing mindset when it comes to fitness. Number one, you have to recognize that every little bit counts. First things first, you need to ditch the idea that you need to go all out in every single area, every single time. I think that that's so detrimental to our success. Fitness is not this all or nothing game, right? It's it's not about doing a perfect one hour workout or sticking to a flawless meal plan every day. It's about making small, consistent choices that add up over time. Like this ten minute walk, a few stretches while you watch TV, a 20 minute workout, all of those things, all of those counts. So don't underestimate the power of little actions. They can really add up to big changes when you start to see, you know, each choice as a step in the right direction, it starts to take the pressure off to being perfect all the time. I want you to celebrate the little wins and recognize that progress is made in those small moments. And if you focus on doing what you can rather than what you think you should be doing, you'll find it much, much easier to stay on track and feel good about your actual efforts. Number two, be okay with mistakes. We've all been there. You skip a workout, you eat something off plan and it suddenly feels like you've ruined everything. Guess what? One skipped workout or one overindulgent meal. This is not going to erase all of your hard work. Life is messy. Life is unpredictable. It's full of surprises. Instead of letting one slip up, make you feel like, you know, I want to throw in the towel recognized for what it is. It's one small blip in the radar. Think of fitness as a journey with many stops along the way. Sometimes you'll be moving fast, sometimes you'll be slowing down. The key is to not let few detours discourage you from continuing your journey. Accept that there's going to be ups, there's going to be downs, and that's totally okay. What matters is that you keep going. Not that you're perfect every single step of the way. Number three, give yourself permission to be imperfect. Repeat after me. You do not have to be perfect to make progress. You do not have to be perfect to make progress. Fitness is not about perfection. It is about persistence. If you constantly feel like you need to do everything perfectly or not at all, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Allow yourself to be imperfect. Some days you're going to crush your workout, other days you're going to skip it because life got in the way. You're busy. You have humans to take care of. You have work calls, whatever it is that is okay. Instead of beating yourself up, be kind to yourself and understand that every day is a fresh start. The more that you let go of the need for everything to be right, the easier it becomes to do something. And remember that doing something, even if it's just a little bit, that's always better than doing nothing at all. Number four Focus on progress, not perfection. One of the biggest traps of this all or nothing mindset is getting caught up in what you didn't do or what you didn't do. Right? Right. So instead, shift your focus to the progress that you are making, no matter how small it might seem. Maybe you're not working out as often as you like, but you're moving more than you were last month. Maybe you had a treat, but you're eating more balanced meal overall. Celebrate those small wins. Progress is about making improvements over time, not achieving some ideal state immediately. When you focus on the positive changes that you're making, no matter how small it is, it reinforces this habit that keeps you going. And the more that you just keep going, one step in front of the other, the closer you're going to get to your goals. And last but not least, number five, practice, flexibility and self-compassion. Give yourself some grace and be flexible with your approach. For example, if you can't do your regular workout, do something shorter or less intense. If you only have 10 minutes or 15 minutes, then utilize that 10 or 15 minutes. If you don't have the time to work out, maybe just try to walk, maybe just try to incorporate movement throughout your day in the little pockets that you do have. Flexibility allows you to adapt to whatever life throws at you without feeling like you failed. Let me say that again. Flexibility allows you to adapt to whatever life throws your way without feeling like you failed. Self-compassion is key to this overcoming or all or nothing mentality. And I want you to treat yourself like you would a friend. Encourage yourself. Don't criticize yourself. Don't beat yourself up. That's not going to serve you long term. Remember that you're doing the best that you can with what you have and let that be enough. So when you are kind to yourself, you will always find it easier to keep moving forward, even when life doesn't go perfectly, especially when life doesn't go perfectly. So there you have it. Your five mindset shifts for breaking this all or nothing mentality and your fitness journey. Let me quickly recap what I talked about. Number one, recognize that every little bit counts. Number two, be okay with your mistakes. Number three, give yourself permission to be imperfect. Number four, focus on progress, not perfection. And last but not least. Number five, practice, flexibility and self-compassion. If you love this episode, I know you will also love Episode 378 nine Ways to Strengthen Your Mindset. That's actually a part one of a two part series. I'll go ahead and link part one so that you can easily go tune in to that now. But I want you heading into this fall to kick this all or nothing mentality to the curb, and I want you to start practicing and embracing more of this balance forgiving approach to fitness, because I think that that's going to be what will serve you long term on the sustainable approach to your health and fitness journey. And remember that it's not about being perfect. It's about showing up and doing your best and enjoying the journey along the way. You've got this remember one step, one workout, one healthy choice at a time. Keep moving forward without the pressure of perfection weighing you down. That is all that I have for today's bonus episode. I hope that this was helpful for you. If you have a friend, a coworker, someone in your life that you feel like you could really would really benefit from this episode or this podcast in general, I just ask that you share it out with them. You can copy the link, send it to them in a text message. You can also screenshot this and post it up on your Instagram story. Tag me Julia. Let better embrace Rielle or Julia, whichever one your heart desires. Or you can tag all three of them. That way we can see them. We love connecting with the guys. We love seeing your moments and we love seeing your shares. But that is all that I have for today's episode. I love you so much. I mean it. I'll talk in the next one. All right, sister. That's all I got for you today. But I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you are not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so, Julie. A lot better. Yes. It's women in the middle for that Daily Post workout. Real talk, healthy tips and tricks and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world. And I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace real because you're worth it. [00:00:00]