At one point or another, most of us have said some version of this: “I messed up… so I’ll just start over tomorrow.”
(Tomorrow could also be next week, next month, the new year, etc.)
The “mess up” might relate to missing a training session (or ten), eating something that didn’t align with our goal, or allowing ourselves to get overwhelmed by work and stress and letting a few of our self-care habits slide.
On the surface and in the moment, that mindset may sound reasonable. But in practice, it often does two unhelpful things.
The “start over” illusion
First, it misrepresents how learning actually works.
Progress—whether in fitness, nutrition, or skill development—doesn’t occur in a straight line. It tends to look more like a rollercoaster, shaped by experimentation and imperfect practice.
That means mistakes aren’t detours from the process—they’re an important part of it. (It’s often helpful to think of them as “mis-takes”.)
Mistakes are uncomfortable information. And it’s that discomfort that pushes us to make creative corrections and continue spiraling upward over time.
While not making mistakes doesn’t necessarily prevent progress, it can indicate that our goal may not be all that challenging. And when we’re not sufficiently challenged, it’s easy to unintentionally slip into a mode of complacency which slows forward motion.
In any case, the knowledge that we gain through the process of making mistakes and reiterating means that we’re not even truly starting over. Instead, we’re picking up where we left off—with new and better data.
Second, it quietly delays progress.
The bigger issue with the “I’ve made a mistake, so I’ll start over tomorrow” mindset isn’t the mistake itself—it’s what fills the gap between now and then.
That waiting period often turns into:
- More skipped training sessions
- More suboptimal nutrition choices
- More distance from the sleep, stress management, and self-care habits that we need to thrive
Progress slows—or in some cases reverses—not because of the initial misstep, but because the helpful actions that put us back on track are postponed in the name of a future reset.
A better mental model
Think of working toward a goal like taking a road trip.
If you get a flat tire along the way, you don’t:
- Check into a hotel for a two days before dealing with it.
- Change it and then drive back home so you can start the trip over.
- Slash the other three.
You instead pull over, change the tire, pull back onto the road, and continue heading toward your final destination.
The same concept applies in relation to your goals.
If you miss a workout, don’t wait a week to do the next one. Instead, go for a short walk or do a quick set of pushups as soon as you have a free minute.
If you eat an entire package of Girl Scout cookies on Friday night after work, don’t eat the other four packages throughout the rest of the weekend. Put them in the freezer, drink a glass of water, and eat your next meal normally instead.
If stress and extra work hours have derailed your routine, don’t spend the rest of the night doom scrolling. Instead turn off your electronics a few hours before bed, read something that’s printed on actual paper, and catch any extra sleep that you can.
As I’ve said before, progress requires consistency—not sameness, not a clean slate, and not perfect conditions.
So when you experience a “flat tire”—which will happen at some point because you’re human—remember that fixing it isn’t a complete reset but rather a picking up from where you left off.
And the sooner you get back on the road, the sooner you arrive where you want to be.
Putting it into practice
Think of a recent moment when you made a mis-take and felt tempted to start over later.
What would “fixing the tire” look like in that situation—not perfectly, just well enough to keep moving forward?
If you’re currently still in the delay stage, go do the smallest version of that action as soon as you reasonably can.
And if you’re not, remember that action for next time. Like changing a flat tire, implementing it quickly is the best way to get back on the road to progress.