Throughout my years of being vegan, I seem to unfailingly run into someone who is fascinated by my commitment to the lifestyle. After many curious questions, they always follow up with, “I tried going vegan, but it only lasted for 2 weeks.”
After having multiple instances like this, I began to think about how this could possibly happen. Only two weeks of trying and someone called it quits on this amazing lifestyle?
I’m no expert, but I think I cracked the code to why most people fail when they try going vegan and I outlined five mistakes I repeatedly hear in their stories that more than likely resulted in their downfall.
They’re not 100% sure or committed from the jump.
For any lifestyle change, it takes willpower and commitment. Changing a diet you probably had since you were in the womb is obviously going to take a bit more time to adjust to.
Sadly, many people just do it for the trends. They often want the aesthetic of being a vegan without having to put in the work.
To avoid this, I highly recommend doing your research and evaluating your current habits. Ask yourself questions to determine how you should approach going vegan and slowly incorporate new habits because what’s the rush? It’s better to slowly go vegan for longevity than to hastily go vegan and call it quits after two weeks.
They don’t know their why.
Knowing your why is so important. People go vegan for different reasons; therefore, initial motivation levels vary.
I found that when people go vegan for dietary reasons, it’s much harder to stick to it. It takes more willpower than someone who’s motivated by animal rights or environmental impact.
Don’t ask me why, but when it comes down to ethical “why’s” and health “why’s”, the former usually wins in the long run.
Take the time to sit down and think about your why because you’ll probably need a little bit more time to outline your action plan when changing your lifestyle.
Not enough research.
Watching one video on veganism sometimes doesn’t cut it. If you want to make this lifestyle change permanent, you have to put in a little bit more effort.
There’s plenty of free education out there on this topic so there’s no excuse not to build a good foundation when it comes to your knowledge on veganism.
If you don’t know where to start, I highly recommend watching “The Best Speech Ever” by Gary Yourosky. This video is the one that changed me in just one hour.
Next, watch some documentaries such as Cowspiracy, Forks Over Knives, Earthlings and What the Health, which can all be found on Netflix with the exception of Earthlings.
Their perspective is clouded.
More times than not, someone tells me their interest in going vegan and usually somewhere in the conversation I hear, “I want to go vegan, but I don’t want to give up…”.
I understand why most people are hesitant and give second thoughts to veganism. They’re basically ridding themselves of everything they’ve ever known; however, I think it’d be helpful if they had the right perspective about the situation.
Instead of viewing veganism as a lifestyle that restricts you from having certain things, view it as a lifestyle that represents your values. Don’t view it as things you can’t have anymore, view it as something you’re choosing not to participate in anymore. You’re not giving up cheese, you’re choosing not to eat it anymore.
In doing this, you’re giving the power back to yourself. This is also where your why is helpful to have in order to complete the sentence, “I am choosing not to [fill in the blank] because I care for the animals or I want to be healthier.”
They don’t embrace slip ups.
If I had a dollar for every time I accidentally ate something with milk, eggs or some other animal product in it during the first few years of my journey, I would be rich.
Mistakes are inevitable, but that doesn’t mean you should just throw the whole thing you were fired up about two weeks ago away.
Think about what that says about you when it comes to sticking things out.
Embrace the mistakes. Learn from them. And by god, keep going.
Continue following my journey with veganism and minimalism over on my instagram or youtube.
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