How To Stop Being An All-or-Nothing Thinker

30 snips

Apr 1, 2025

Explore the pitfalls of an all-or-nothing mindset that can stall your business growth. Discover why mental flexibility is your secret weapon against setbacks. Learn to reframe missed goals as valuable data collection opportunities. Embrace the messy middle where progress happens, and take decisive action without being paralyzed by perfectionism. The journey of growth involves pivoting rather than stopping when challenges arise, ensuring that every experience contributes to your success!

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ANECDOTE

The 5K Story

Amy Porterfield shares a story about her first 5K, where her all-or-nothing thinking led her to give up on running when she encountered unexpected hills.
Her friend, demonstrating mental flexibility, adapted her pace and finished strong, highlighting the importance of adapting to challenges.

INSIGHT

The Messy Middle

All-or-nothing thinking hinders growth by creating a false dichotomy of success and failure, neglecting the messy middle where true progress occurs.
This mindset makes every decision feel high-stakes, leading to hesitation and missed opportunities.

ADVICE

Use the Gap in the Gain

Reframe setbacks by focusing on the lessons learned and progress made, rather than viewing them as failures.
Acknowledge accomplishments and use the "gap in the gain" to identify areas for improvement and future opportunities.

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Breaking Free From the All-or-Nothing Mindset That's Slowing Your Business Growth

If you're anything like me, you've probably fallen into the trap of seeing your business in black and white – either it's thriving or failing, and there’s nothing in between! In this episode, I share my personal wake-up call (spoiler: it involves a disastrous 5K run) that revealed how my all-or-nothing mindset was holding me back in business and life.

Your brain naturally craves certainty (science confirms this!), but this extreme thinking creates unnecessary pressure and keeps you stuck in perfectionism, waiting for conditions that might never come. The truth is, growth happens in the messy middle where you're taking imperfect action, collecting data, and making strategic pivots.

In this episode, you'll learn practical frameworks to shift out of extreme thinking patterns that are stalling your growth. I'll show you how to reframe missed goals as data collection opportunities, take decisive action, and embrace "phase one" thinking that gets you moving forward. Plus, I share how my own mindset shifts led to launching my Made to Scale Mastermind and Milly Club – opportunities I would have missed if I'd stayed stuck in my all-or-nothing thinking.

HERE ARE THE 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

1️⃣ Mental Flexibility Is Your Superpower – Obstacles don't mean stop, they mean pivot. When launches don't hit goals or team members struggle, resist seeing it as failure and instead look for the adjustments and data that will fuel your next success.

2️⃣ Take Imperfect Action Now – Perfectionism is just procrastination in disguise. Instead of waiting for perfect systems or perfect timing, launch the simplified version, hire before you feel "ready," and treat everything as a data collection opportunity.

3️⃣ Ask Better Questions When You Feel Stuck – When the urge to quit feels overwhelming (which is normal!), ask yourself: "If quitting wasn't an option, what would I do next?" Then take that step, no matter how small, to maintain momentum.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

The Gap And The Gain by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy

#525: How To Become A Master Decision Maker (& Troubleshooter)

#748: Married To An Entrepreneur: A Sit Down With Hobie’s and My Relationship Coach

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