The Dangerous Trap of All-or-Nothing Thinking

See if this sounds familiar…

You committed to sending out 10 prospecting emails this week. But by Thursday afternoon you haven’t sent a single one.

Now you’re slammed with other work. Yes, you might have time to send two or three emails — if you’re lucky.

Then again, what’s the use? If you can’t send all 10 emails, maybe you should just wait till next week, right?

I call it all-or-nothing thinking. It’s very common. And very dangerous. (I’m certainly not immune to it, so I know!)

You don’t have a full hour to do your workout, so you don’t do anything that day.

You were going to call your parents to see how they’re doing. But you don’t have a full hour to talk, so you don’t call at all.

You were going to touch base with three previous clients. But you have only 20 minutes before you have to leave for the day. So you don’t call any of them.

Here’s the thing: It’s better to do something small than nothing at all.

Better to work out for 20 minutes than to skip the whole thing.

Better to chat with your parents for 15 minutes than to not call at all.

Better to send out two warm emails this week than to wait until you have time to send a bigger batch.

Two warm emails a week is about 100 emails per year. And when done right, those emails can generate five or more positive responses. Which could lead to one or two new clients.

Plus, you get better when you practice. Even if it’s just for a few minutes every week.

You get more efficient. And over the course of a year, these little efforts can change your world.

It’s a compounding effect we don’t notice… because it happens so gradually.

So think about what you’ve been putting off because you just “don’t have time.” Break up that big task into little actions. And commit to taking just a few simple, easy actions consistently, even if it’s not as much as you’d planned to do.

Give it a couple of months. You won’t believe the results.