It's NEVER About Perfection

I grew up striving for perfection and it impacted every area of life . . . I’d get stomach aches over my school grades, push myself too far sometimes in sports, and I was a rule follower; I never wanted to “rock the boat” for fear of conflict or even worse, failure. 

Maybe you’ve found yourself here at one point or another too. I hear about the need to please, and striving for perfection a lot while working with my clients. I believe we’ve all been trained to think we have to do everything “just so” in order to achieve health, success and happiness.  

Quite frankly, the exact opposite is true.  

If we never experience failure, how can we succeed beyond our wildest imagination?  

If we never experience darkness, how are we to see the light?  

If we keep ourselves confined in a box, how will we ever learn to fly?  

This applies in all aspects of life; your health, your career, your level of happiness and more. In each case, your journey of accomplishment, failure and success depends on progression. Never perfection. It’s about knowing how to find your way back to what serves you best when you’ve fallen off course. It’s exploring new ideas, foods, and trails to find your way when the current situation isn’t working. It’s understanding your “why” behind all of it, taking ownership of your choices and consciously committing to make a change, and then following through with it.  

It’s never about perfection; a healthy, resilient, happy life is all about progression.

If you find yourself off course today. Maybe you’re tired of waking up tired. Maybe stress has gripped you so tightly you feel you can’t breathe. Or maybe you’ve longed for better health for years now and are ready to do something, just one thing, to better the situation. I encourage you to start with this:

1. Close your eyes, and take 5 deep belly breaths. Nice and slow, relaxing your shoulders, clearing your mind, relaxing your body.
2. Ask yourself “what ONE thing could I do today to help the situation?” Maybe a brisk 10 min walk is a good start, or making a salad for lunch, or saying no because, honestly, your plate is already overflowing. Decide on your one thing and follow through with action. Awareness and ideas are marvelous; implementation is where change happens.
3. Repeat this every single day, and build on your ONE simple choice with another. Taking things one step at a time helps build momentum until you’re in a place where you can do more. There’s no need to do an overhaul on your life; small shifts amount to big returns. Just focus on the ONE thing each day and build from there. Before you know it, each little step will have turned into you walking a marathon and you’ll feel incredible!  
4. The fourth and final thing is to remember that negative thoughts and self-talk only hold us back from progress. Shut those thoughts down, replace them with supportive, positive, powerful words and offer yourself grace along the way, taking it one step at a time.  

Let us know about your ONE simple choice by leaving us a comment here! And reach out if we can be of support to you or your team in the journey to healthy, happy living! We’re here to be a valuable resource to you!

You can learn more and access complimentary resources at www.AngelaGaffney.com.

It’s always an honor and joy to serve and support you in health and happiness.  I’d love to hear from you; feel free to connect with me: [email protected]. 

Believe it can be!