Video version at the end.
Welcome to the ABC’s of Health! This journey is going to be amazing! Follow along on social media because you’ll get some fun videos and posts in the mix.
All in. Have you ever felt like the health bar is simply set too high? You know the feeling… there’s all the things you need to do, the ones you should be doing, the things you absolutely need to eliminate, the things that were bad for you a decade ago but seem to be fine now, the new thing that no one really understands but supposedly is the magic bean.
Have you ever felt like it’s not supposed to be this hard?
In the end… how good is good enough? It feels like you’re supposed to be perfect, but it feels like you’re failing. Well… how good is good enough?
When it comes to health, we tend to be either all in or nothing at all, and usually we rock from one end to the other; going from trying to be perfect and paying attention to every little detail to simply giving up. Why? Simple: perfection is too hard. The all in mentality says that I need to eat perfectly (whatever that is supposed to mean), workout to achieve a perfect body (wait, what? Why?), always be happy and satisfied with myself (that’s a contradiction to the previous) and never slip up or make mistakes (er… I thought I was an actual human).
Perfection takes away my choices, my control and even my capacity to act. The bottom line is that perfection does not lead to success. Whatever your definition of perfection is, it’s not what is going to get you where you want to be. When we strive for perfect, a few things happen:
We feel stuck
One of the traps of perfection is never moving. Since there is always something to tweak, to improve, to learn, to change… the pursuit of perfection becomes just that – a never ending pursuit. Seeking to do all the things perfectly puts you in a loop of forever changing and never taking real action.
We are inconsistent
The pursuit of perfection will, by nature, show you what is wrong with right now. If something is less than perfect it means that whatever the reality is is below par. Therefore, the pursuit of perfection leads to inconsistency because you are always changing something.
Frustration
There are few things as frustrating as never measuring up. To yourself, to others, to your idea of what your health should be. If you are consistently looking for perfect you completely miss the good, the doable, the practical possible steps that done every day will add up.
So what to do instead of trying to be perfect? I’m glad you asked!
Perfection is not the goal.
Excellence is.
While the pursuit of perfection leads to frustration, the pursuit of excellence leads to growth. It is possible to be excellent and not perfect. It is possible to be excellent at specifics. It is possible to be excellent and not do it all. As you’ve heard me say before and will hear me say again, consistency is the name of the game. Changing all the things all the time in the attempt to never make a mistake is… a mistake. Being excellent at one thing until it becomes second nature, and then being excellent at something else until it becomes second nature and repeating that again and again… that is consistency, and that is what leads to the health you actually desire.
You don’t need a perfect calorie count. You don’t need perfect macro balance. You don’t need ripped abs. You don’t need to cut a food group. You don’t need a juice cleanse. You don’t need more cardio.
“Perfection”… whatever that’s supposed to mean, is not the goal. Health is.
Wherever you choose to start… be consistent. Perfection is overrated. Do you really want to go all in in your health? Start small. What small thing can you begin practicing with excellence today?
Be consistent in the small things, find excellence in them, and you WILL see improvement in your health, and changes in your body. Get enough sleep. Drink water. Eat good protein. Don’t ignore fruits and veggies. Lift heavy stuff. There are many small things that we can excel at. It is the consistency in the simple, small, every day things that lead to big change.
This week, pick something. Pick one small thing that you can do for your health, and focus on that. Practice it every day until it becomes second nature. You will find that the more you practice an action, the more consistent you are, the easier it becomes. Then, choose another one, build on your first habit. Before you know it, you will be the person you wanted to become.
Perfection is not required for change or improvement. Consistency is.
Keeping it simple,
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