The Setback That Sparked a Deeper Lesson
I recently slipped up on my carnivore diet. I wasn’t as strict as I had been, and I started noticing something: I stopped seeing progress. My goals began to feel distant, like I was maintaining but not advancing. It hit me hard—not just because of the diet itself, but because of what it meant about my discipline.
That slip-up reminded me of something I learned in the military—a powerful lesson about what to do when you get hit, and how it applies to far more than just war.
Early Training: Get Shot, You’re Dead
Back in the early days of my military career, we trained with laser-based systems. When you got hit, it didn’t matter where—hand, foot, vest, helmet—you were dead. One shot, and you were done.
But in real-life combat, that kind of thinking became a problem. Soldiers who got shot in the arm or leg would fall and give up, assuming they were done. Why? Because their training taught them that any hit meant death. Their bodies might still be capable, but their minds had already quit.
The government recognized the flaw—and fixed it.
New Training: Stay in the Fight
The military revamped its approach. They introduced sim rounds—paintball-style bullets fired from real weapons. Now, when you got hit, you didn’t die. The only way you died was if someone told you that you were dead.
The new rule: Even if you get shot in the head, you keep fighting until you’re told otherwise.
That mindset shift saved lives. Soldiers began staying in the fight longer, even with serious injuries. And that principle has stayed with me ever since.
The Diet Slip-Up: A Shot to My Discipline
That same principle applies to life—and to the carnivore diet. When I slipped up, I caught myself thinking, “I failed. I’m not disciplined. Maybe I can’t do this.”
But slipping up doesn’t mean you’re done. One wrong meal, one bad day, one mistake—none of those end the fight. It’s just a shot to the arm. You’re still in the fight—unless you decide you’re not.
Discipline isn’t about perfection. It’s about what you do after the failure.
The Real Battle Is in Your Mind
The hardest battles are internal. When you believe one mistake erases all your progress, you’re falling into the trap of poor training. You’re teaching yourself to quit.
Real discipline is about getting back up. It’s about looking your failure in the face and saying, “That wasn’t ideal, but I’m not done.”
Whether you’re on day 1 or day 364 of your carnivore journey—or any journey—you don’t start from zero after a slip. You start from experience. That experience matters.
You’re Still in the Fight
I’ve tried different versions of the carnivore diet. I’ve slipped, I’ve adjusted, I’ve kept going. And I’m still going—because I know I’m still in the fight.
So are you.
If you’re working on carnivore, discipline, or any other big change in your life, remember this: Getting shot doesn’t mean you’re dead. You get to choose whether you stay in the fight.
Resources to Help You Keep Going
- 📘 Free Resource: Grab my Carnivore Diet Quick Start Guide — it’s totally free and made for beginners.
- 📄 New Tool: Check out my Discipline Starter Kit—a simple but powerful printable tracker to help you stay accountable and keep going.
If this message resonated with you, make sure to subscribe and follow along. I’m sharing more of the lessons I’ve learned—and the ones I’m still learning. Let’s keep moving forward—together.
