Perfection: Setting Yourself Up For Failure

"A lot of disappointed people have been left standing on the street corner waiting for the bus marked 'Perfection.' " Donald Kennedy

I've had this quote hanging in my laundry room for a couple of years now. Every now and then I'll look at it and remember I'm not going to be perfect and that's ok.

In my mind I have the energy of 10. I think about eating perfectly and doing double workouts every day. I think, If I was a professional athlete I'd be in such great shape because I'd be able to workout all day. Well, guess what, I'm not. And even my best laid intentions sometimes go unfulfilled. However, I try not to let my unfulfilled desire take me off course of what I'm really trying to achieve. What I'm learning is I need MENTAL STRENGTH. I think when you are learning to change your unhealthy habits having strong mental toughness is as important as anything else you can learn.

Thinking you can do this challenge or just get healthy without any bumps in the road is setting yourself up for failure. Success comes from persevering not from perfection. If you hit a rough patch you can't beat yourself up over it. You need to put it behind you and move forward. You can't quit.

We don't see athletes have a bad game, not win the gold, or miss the winning shot and decide they are going to quit the sport. That wouldn't make sense. So why when we miss our mark our instinct is to throw in the towel. We need to stop. We are strong women. We need to love ourselves not put ourselves down for not being perfect. (And that goes for all areas of our lives.)

I recently read in You On A Diet, by Dr. Roizen and Dr. Oz some smart tips I'd like to share.

ADOPT THE YOU-Turn MANTRA:

When using a GPS it tells you exactly what to do. But let's say you make a mistake and miss a turn or turn onto the wrong street. The GPS doesn't berate you, doesn't scold you, doesn't tell you that you might as well drive off a cliff...Instead, all it says, very politely, is this: "At the next available moment, make an authorized U-turn." The GPS allows for mistakes and tries to help you correct them. That's the kind of mentality we want you to have.

What kills any regimen of healthy eating isn't the occasional dessert or slice of pizza; it's the cascade of behavior that happens after the initial indulgence.

Make A YOU-turn. You need to understand that you can make mistakes but that you can correct and overcome them with some nonjudgmental coaxing.

MENTAL: ...it's OK to stray occasionally, that you can take control of the situation and steer yourself back, and that the positive reinforcement and confidence that come with overcoming challenges will give you the mental strength of a tank.

I personally think that mental toughness is a hard thing to achieve but once you do you will be happier with yourself and you'll more easily see your personal successes. Hopefully this challenge and knowing you are accountable makes getting back on track a little easier and helps build the mental toughness you need to truly make a lifestyle change not just "I'm doing this now" change.