Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Celebrating Imperfection

When life gets a little hectic, I need to remind myself of this: I'm aiming for excellence, not perfection. There have been too many times that because I wasn't perfect at something I eventually got disheartened and gave up. This has come into play many times with my previous weight loss efforts -- if I wasn't following all the rules perfectly, I'd begin to give myself enough slack to follow none of the rules and my motivation and efforts would eventually dwindle.

Now I think I (finally) learned what was blatantly clear to everyone else around me; it's okay that I'm not perfect, because nobody is. Trying to be perfect will only lead to failure and disappointment... it's an impossible task. Giving myself this out and celebrating my imperfection has helped me out tremendously. I need to be my biggest cheerleader, not my harshest critic.

So now, when I'm unable to get to the gym because work keeps me there into the wee hours of the morning, or I get so wrapped up in something that I don't eat what I'm supposed to, I am able to shrug it off and keep going. I know that I'm making forward progress even if I have a slip-up now and then.

If this sounds like you too, sometimes it helps to just remember... Strive for excellence, not perfection.

Have a happy Tuesday!
LP

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