The All or Nothing Paradox

It’s all or nothing. The notion is simple. I must give a hundred percent effort one hundred percent of the time. If not, it’s worth nothing. It is a common requisite for many who seek to achieve success and excellence. People use this philosophy as the key or just as much an excuse to pushing themselves at the top level. On the surface, it seems fine. It seems like a great concept to get stuck in. It looks like a strong philosophy that one can develop and utilise to really become the best version of themselves.

There is actually an Amazon sport documentary television series titled as such that is dedicated to this concept based around football clubs and their drive for competitiveness and results. I haven’t watched all of them, but have very much enjoyed the parts that I have. The show gives great insight into the team’s hard work, how they operate, the leadership dynamics and how they must consistently push themselves to new heights.

In competitive sport and even sometimes in aspects of life, this can be a worthwhile philosophy to deploy. It can help one get that competitive edge in a situation in which one is required to beat another in a task. In competition, one cannot expect to beat the best if they don’t give their best. In a task oriented circumstance there is a considerably worthy case to use this attitude and way of thinking. One may have to go all the way and give everything in order to achieve their goal.

As Tom Brady has just stated in his retirement tweets this week after twenty two years in the NFL that he has “always believed that the sport of football is an ‘all in’ proposition” and without a hundred percent competitive commitment one won’t succeed. It’s a different football than the one the Amazon documentary series covers, but the concept of competitiveness is the same. One must be all in. It must be all or nothing to triumph.

When it comes to wellness, health and fitness, however, this philosophy may be more disparaging than beneficial. While it may be useful in helping you achieve a specific goal such as to achieve a certain amount of weight loss or a new weight lifting personal record, it may have the opposite effect in the general day to day of the overall purpose.

Friends have told me in the past that they are all or nothing kind of people. What they mean by that is that if they aren’t able to go all in, they won’t do anything at all, in the sense that if they can’t go workout six days a week, they won’t bother going at all. It illustrates that to them there is no point in doing anything at all if they can’t do everything. This way of thinking simply stops people from even trying and can even demotivate or cause those who do try to needlessly give up. They don’t think there is a point to it.

In reality though, there is more to fitness, health and wellness than just finality or an endgame. These are elements of life, a part of our overall existence. Our life expectancy and living standard often directly correlate with our health and wellness with fitness being a part of that and a tool that can have a positive impact on our lives. As a result, even a small amount of fitness can be of benefit. One doesn’t need to be extremely healthy or fit, have a six pack, perfect physique or lift the heaviest weights to live better. There may be a differentiating factor within our existence depending on how much we work on our health, wellness and fitness, but it doesn’t mean we have to give everything or nothing. Even the smallest amount will have a positive impact. It shouldn’t always be all or nothing.