Progress, Not Perfection:
Achieving Your Goals One Step at a Time
Do you see fitness influencers on instagram and wonder how they stay lean and fit or how they lost tons of weight and had these seemingly perfect transformations?
When we have what seems to be an insurmountable goal ahead of us, it’s all too easy to focus on the end result we want and get totally overwhelmed with the amount of work it will take to get there.
Don’t get me wrong, it will take work and effort to change your body composition. There is no magic pill, body wrap, or quick fix that will make this happen overnight. But…
I love to reframe things in a way that makes things seem much more achievable….because guess what! You can achieve anything you set your mind to!! “Reframing” is one of the best ways to get out from underneath the overwhelm and get ourselves motivated enough to make our dreams a reality!
I know it sounds kind of cliche but we do have to focus on the journey, not the destination.
Instead of saying, “Oh my, I have 10 lbs to lose (or 30, or 50, or 100 or more)”, shift your focus to this:
I am going to START cutting out processed foods (or at least cut them back by 80%).
or
I am going to START going to the gym 2 times per week.
or
I am going to START walking everyday.
Any one of these things would move the needle in the right direction!!
Isn’t doing even ONE of these things better than not doing any of them at all?
So a little tough love here… what if you do none of them. Not one thing. Do you know what that gets you? Yep, you are guaranteed to see no progress. Yikes!!
So the point is, focus on the BEHAVIORS that will get you closer to your goals.
Now then, let’s consider some things that may hinder our efforts in this regard. What if we tend to sabotage ourselves…because after all, we ARE human!! Sometimes our tendencies as women can work against us when it comes to taking care of ourselves.
Is this you??
Tendency #1
We tend to take care of everyone else and not ourselves!
I remember all those years of taking care of my twin girls. I homeschooled them and LOVED it!! I am so appreciative of all the time I got to spend with them as they were growing up.
We bonded and spent hours reading together and doing activities. But wow was it hard to always have time for my workouts and to cook healthy meals. I involved them in buying food and cooking and that was part of their learning. But it did not go perfectly everyday to say the least!!
My husband would stay with the girls while I worked out sometimes, in fact a lot of times. But there were definitely many times when I had to improvise and get in a “good enough” workout at the house. Then there were times it just didn’t happen. BUT, what I will say is that I kept trying. I wasn’t about to give up all together! There were seasons in there of basically just hanging on by my fingernails.
When they were first born, it was all I could do to put a Stoeffer’s lasagna in the oven for dinner, and lunch was an Uncle Ben’s rice bowl in the microwave. Talk about preservatives and no telling what else!!
But little by little, I began to prioritize healthy meals and involved the girls in the meal prep. Setting that example for my kids felt really good, and a side benefit was that they learned early on to love healthy food themselves!!
I think as busy moms we can let the habits we create when we “need” those easy options creep over into basically the rest of our lives.
Yes it takes more effort, more planning, maybe a bit more money. But isn’t it worth it to try our best to feed our families and OURSELVES the most nutritious food we possibly can?!
Tendency #2
We can also have the tendency, probably subconsciously, to not realize our worth…to not realize that we are WORTHY and DESERVING of taking care of ourselves. We are worthy of both the time and the money that it takes to better ourselves.
Tendency #3
Oh and here is another thing that we do sometimes…we get all excited about a new nutrition and fitness program, we clean out our pantry, go grocery shopping, buy all the things on the “list”, maybe buy a new pair of workout leggings. Yay, I’m really gonna do this!! And then low and behold an event comes up or an evening out with friends, and we fall off plan.
What does that pesky voice that lives in our head say?? It tells us, “Well that lasted all of two weeks! See you really can’t do this!” And then we fall off the proverbial wagon and that one night of indulgences turns into a week, and that week turns into a month, and well, you get the picture.
I am not saying that everyone does this, but it does happen to A LOT of people. It can be human nature!
Tendency #4
And lastly, we can have the tendency to not TRUST OURSELVES. We may wonder if we are really capable of making the changes it takes to lose the weight or gain some muscle. “Am I really going to do this or am I going to fail?”
Do you know what the answer is??
I do…
The key is to TAKE MESSY ACTION!!! That’s right, this will not be a perfect journey with no hiccups! So let’s just get used to that idea right away!
There will be moments of backsliding. There will be moments where the scale goes back up. And what if you do slide backwards for a whole week, or a whole month…are you just going to give up?! Well I am not going to give up on you and you shouldn’t give up on yourself!
So here’s what messy action could look like:
“I intended to walk for 2 miles today, but I ran out of time so I walked for 10 minutes after lunch and dinner.)
Or
“I didn’t feel like working out today but I put on my tennis shoes , walked into the gym, and did 3 sets of squats and went home. That’s a win!!”
Or
“I fell off the wagon and ate ALL THE THINGS yesterday, so today I will be kind to myself and get more protein and veggies in, which will nourish my body and give it what it deserves…AND I will not beat myself up about yesterday!”
Or
“I have been stressed out lately so instead of digging my heels in and forging on, I will think of a few things I love to do that will relieve some stress. Go for a walk with a friend, spend some time outside, get a massage or pedicure, buy myself some flowers to put on the kitchen counter.” Stress relief is not something to ignore! Be proactive!
Getting used to the idea that consistency literally looks like the scenarios I just mentioned! It doesn’t mean that we don’t push ourselves to do uncomfortable things. But it does mean that when we’re not perfect, we don’t beat ourselves up, we pick ourselves up, and we just try to have a better day today than we did yesterday.
Repeat after me, “Consistency is NOT perfection!!” The sooner we realize this, the more days and weeks of good decisions we will have under our belt…the less days we will spend with that mean voice in our head telling us we can’t do it. Kick that guy to the curb!!! Literally!
So let’s reframe our mindset…
You are worthy and deserving of giving yourself love and care!!
Remember, it’s progress, NOT perfection we are after!
Little by little baby!! You WILL make it happen!
What messy action can you take to get you that much closer to your goals?!
