Is all-or-nothing thinking keeping us in a sedentary position?

Recent research by Dr. Michelle Segar and colleagues (2026) examined all-or-nothing thinking as a barrier to developing a regular exercise habit. They focused not on those who didn’t exercise on their radar, but on those who often intended to do so. In both cases, not much exercise was done.

Most of us know that exercise is good for us. So why aren’t more people doing it? Segar suggested that the answer is fourfold: (1) Most people view exercise as all or nothing. If you can’t do it for an hour or 30 minutes a day (as most guidelines suggest), that’s an excuse not to do it at all. (2) People make excuses for not exercising. (3) Exercise is expended relative to other daily activities. (4) Some people are even surprised by their current inactivity because they felt positive about it.

Most of us are familiar with the physical activity recommendations of public health agencies. We should do 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week and strength training twice a week. It’s the perfect setting for an all-or-nothing mindset:

“Well, I know I can’t. So why bother?”

“I’m very busy. I have other priorities.”

“I know they expect me to sweat, or it doesn’t count.”

The sentiments expressed in these statements show the best of all-or-nothing thinking.

Exercise is possible

As with any behavior, there are many nuances to consider. How appropriate is exercise? How it stands against the other things that require us attention during the day? Do we think of it like any other task we have? Is it more unknown than anything else on our plates? It’s not as optional as, say, doing laundry or cooking dinner. In other words, Segar says, exercise can be expendable. Especially when it takes us a few hours each week to do it right.

Segar’s research also touched on something very important. The exhausting nature of physical activity surrounds us. It exists in our culture.

Often, when it comes to our health, including eating and exercise habits and management disease, we are bombarded with a rational approach. It’s easier to put it on the “to do” list than to try to deal with the impact. motivationintention, self regulationand any number of other human characteristics.

Culture reflects human nature

We often have emotional responses to how exercise is structured. This framework is part of our culture and our response to it depends on human nature.

We idealize good-looking, healthy individuals. Doctors tell us what to do, but they don’t have time to tell us how to rewrite what we believe about ourselves.

Finding the origins of all-or-nothing thinking about exercise means evaluating messages in the context of human nature. One way to look at it is through a lens social comparison theory. First proposed by Festinger (1954), the theory proposed the idea that we all have a tendency to look outside of ourselves to assess our own abilities. As his theory developed, he hypothesized that if a person compares himself to a group that is fundamentally different from him, the motivation to change to become more like that group will weaken. In other words, if the bar is too high, the motivation to change is reduced.

Another framework that looks at human behavior heuristics. According to Zenko (2016), we humans often use heuristics to make decisions. Heuristics are partially described as using trial and error to solve a problem. So far, so good.

When it comes to exercise, we can run with that concept, throw out the recommendations, and figure out what actually works for us. The problem is that human heuristics require us to find efficient solutions without much effort. We may retreat to rules or past experiences or to see what others are doing. In other words, we often look for answers not within ourselves, but around us.

New message

Can being aware of these trends help us break free, realize our intentions, and understand the health benefits of moving more?

One approach to this was developed in 1997 by Dr. Segar. It’s called the Motivation MAP. Since then, it has been tested and revised, making exercise a real intervention for behavior change. It was designed to overcome three specific obstacles: (1) Exercise is a chore or “should”, (2) exercise takes so much time that it becomes all or nothing, and (3) people experience discomfort with prioritizing time for self-care activities such as exercise.

In summary, the messages are: “feel good,” “everything matters,” and “make self-care a priority.”

Motivational mapping has been shown to significantly increase physical activity, transform it from a chore into an enjoyable activity, and shift a person’s mindset from “should” to self-care.

For several years, some organizations have been trying to change their messaging to something very similar to what Dr. Segar suggested in his Motivation Map:

• Pronounce movement efficiency for 10 or even 5 minutes at a time and suggestions for what to do in those minutes
• Allowing yourself to use self-compassion and self-care as a way to stay on the journey
• Instead of beating yourself up for missing the mark, celebrate each small change as a victory
• Analyze the ways you are already moving and build on that
• Change the goal, lower the bar and consider all activities acceptable

Despite our innate human and cultural tendencies, we can make our exercise intentions our personal journey, not anyone else’s. The message can and is changing.