How trying a vegan diet helped me overcome my negative self-talk

I used to think that being vegan is out of my reach. I was saying to myself: “It’s too difficult! You need to think about every single meal. You need to check all the ingredients." "People around me eat meat, it will be too much hassle!”

One day I decided to simply try. “Let’s see what happens”, I said to myself. No expectations to become vegan fully. Just to try something new and test how I feel. I was done reading articles from both sides. “Being vegan is unhealthy! You need meat!”. At the same time, you hear “being vegan is the healthiest option and we all should do it!”.

I believe we are all individuals. I can’t know what something is like for me before I try it. No one could give me an answer. Only I could get it.

Having no expectations was the best way to go about it. I could eat whatever I want. I was choosing a vegan option one meal at a time. When I really wanted some melted cheese, for example, I ate that with no remorse. I was reading a lot about healthy eating at that time and made sure half of my plate is made of veggies and the rest was about testing and trying. If I wanted to break from my diet, I did not feel bad about it. I believe that’s exactly the reason why I still continue after 16 months.

I found value in overcoming my original doubts and limiting beliefs. When I was choosing vegan, I felt good about myself for sticking to my personal challenge. That was my reinforcement.

What helped was the fact that my cousin tried vegan at a similar time. We didn’t live together but when I visited family, I wasn’t the only one. Feeling like an outsider is not easy and we sometimes will do whatever it takes to feel like a part of the group again. And it’s ok! We don’t have to start there, we can slowly build up to that point.

I believe there is an even bigger lesson from all this. I didn’t just learn how to be vegan, what to chose and what to avoid. I reminded myself how resilient I am and how I can overcome my own negative self-talk such as “I can’t do it! It’s too difficult!”. We talk to ourselves all sorts of bullshit. The only way to know which one is bullshit is to try to go against it.

For me, this story is another example of how behaviour works. Behaviour principles can be applied across the species. From animal training to personal development. Changing my behaviour changed the way I talk to myself. It can be applied to any new skill you would like to learn, not just changing your diet. I’ve done it, you can do it too!