The Vegan Plus Bacon Theory

The Vegan Plus Bacon Theory has been quickly gaining popularity on TikTok, and it's something we haven't heard related to progress in a long time. Last year, the 10K steps rule infiltrated my algorithm, and I felt like a failure every time I didn't hit that coveted number during my evening walks. But did I discredit everything I did do? Absolutely not!

That's the heart of the Vegan Plus Bacon Theory: two things can absolutely be true at the same time. You can be working towards a degree in science but take a semester off to pay down your credit card bill. You can be saving up for your dream house but skip a month of savings payments to cover something else. You can be committed to eating clean but still enjoy the occasional bacon.

In a world where copy-pasta perfectionism and curated appearances are so deeply connected to our own self-worth, the idea that you can do a small percentage of your goals...your wants, your dreams...and count it as a whole is genuinely coming to save us from this obsession with trying to be, in fact, "whole."

I have this book called Grace Over Perfection that I come back to from time to time when I'm not reaching my goals on schedule. A close friend gifted me this book in my mid-20s when I was in a difficult space. I was freelancing and working full time at Publicis, a global advertising agency, as a "content engineer." Back then, that title was very vague, and a lot of organizations had no idea what to do with me or my colleagues. Yet we performed perfectly. I was striving to be perfect so much that when I made mistakes at work or even with love interests, it scared me to death. I was literally frightened to take the next step, to push "space" and "return" to finish the content matrix. Back then, there were not enough tools to cover your ass. Being perfect was a double-edged sword. You were expected to know everything, with very little insight and tools. 

Nowadays, your toolbox is full of free apps and endless advice on TikTok. Your closet is full of clothes you got at a discount. There is seemingly an endless supply of funding. You're one call away from a million dollars. What makes you better than the next? It's that willpower, the energy level of somebody who doesn't have to perform. It reminds me that progress doesn't require perfection. It just requires showing up even in the moments we feel like it's easy to give up. And that's exactly what the Vegan Plus Bacon Theory reinforces—harm reduction is still reduction.

Showing up at 10% is still showing up.

I digress… if you've been beating yourself up for not doing it all, consider this your permission slip. Be vegan plus bacon. Be the gym girlie who takes Wednesdays off. Be the saver who splurges once in a while. The point is you're still in it—and that matters more than any arbitrary finish line.