A few weeks ago I met with a client who was "needing" a reset. (Her words, not mine.) She had just returned from a wonderful vacation and was struggling with getting back into her gym. (Who hasn't been there?)
After talking things through, we determined that her true issue wasn't her desire to workout, but rather she was bored with her current routine. She decided that she would create a challenge for herself for the month of March. This meant that her start day was a few days away. But she was ready and determined.
She then made a goal for the next two weeks to hit the gym 3 times per week.
When we met for our follow up session, she almost immediately shouted that she "failed miserably."
I asked, "What does 'failed miserably' mean?"
She said that she didn't go to the gym at all. And then she thought about it some more and said she made it once. 1 out of 6 days.
One is still better than none!
(And for the record, lifting wasn't her only goal. She also never missed a day of hitting 10,000 steps per day in 2 weeks!)
Here's the thing about health and wellness.
(And really about any goal or desire that you might be working towards.)
It should never be about perfection.
We, as human beings, cannot set ourselves up to believe that we can do something perfectly all the time - or at all, for that matter. That mindset is setting you up for heartache and defeat, having you throw in the towel before you really even get started.
No.
Perfection is not what we should be striving for. (Because, newsflash - it doesn't exist!)
It's progress.
It's consistency.
It's the drive to be just 1% better than you were yesterday.
I'm sure this is a reminder that most of us could use.
I know I needed it!
I had such high hopes and big goals for the new year. I was ready to tackle every goal and hit the ground running on January 1st.
But life had other plans.
And you know what? That's OK.
It's OK that my business goals have shifted. I needed those quiet, disoriented two months to reset and rebalance. (Because truthfully, what I have been working on is far greater than my initial goals for the year!)
It's OK that I didn't complete workout programs each month. I still moved my body almost every day. (And I'm feeling the strongest I have ever felt!)
I may not have been hitting intentions that I made for myself for the new year. (In fact, some of those intentions have changed, also.) But I've been growing and making progress every single day. I've been enjoying the journey.
And I'm proud of myself.
I want you to be proud of yourself.
Can you do me a favor?
Can you choose one thing that you can do each day that will make you just 1% better?
Maybe it's going to bed ten minutes earlier, or drinking water over a sugary drink just one time during the day.
And then, can you be proud of your accomplishment?
Those tiny little tweaks are what make the most impact. And when you allow yourself to be proud of your achievements?
You're unstoppable.
Go be unstoppable.