Perfectly Imperfect

Halfway through the week.
Its been a long one so far,..typical, and yet not in every way.  Poor Oscar is running around the house like a freak show,...half cat half rat.  But I would be lying if I said I wasn't LOVING not having to clean up hair everywhere.  For the sake of my sanity, he can deal with being bald for awhile.
Money well spent.

In the world of fitness and all things sweaty, I've had several come-to-Jesus-meetings with clients this week.  Fittingly, its been a common theme among my ladies....perfection.  And I've found that its never just in the gym, that's just where I encounter their demons.  Here are these women literally killing themselves in an effort to achieve an unrealistic goal in every aspect of their lives.  No, its not just about fitness or the perfect diet,...its an overflow of this self-prescribed expectation to have it all together all the time and be damned to achieve anything short of perfect.
I want to shake them.
You are literally setting yourself up for failure EVERY SINGLE TIME.  Why?  Because you CANNOT do and sustain what you are essentially demanding yourself to do.  Period.  And the truth is, ITS OK. 
I know I am stomping on some toes right now and metaphorically shaking the walls of some comfort zones.  Good.  I hope they crumble.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but your attempt at this lifestyle ultimately leaves you feeling defeated.  Because, and here's the ironic part,...you are not achieving your own defined standard in ANY aspect of your life. 
Thus, everything shy of that feels like failure.

Ah, this plays out so often in the gym...
I get women who want to regain healthy control of their weight, and trying to combine the discipline/will power with the incredible amount of pressure they place on themselves daily brews the perfect storm.
It usually goes something like this:
"Meredith I was sooo good with my nutrition the first 3 weeks, and then I had a bad day and then a bad week and then I hate myself for it...then I just say screw it I don't care and eat more.  Ugh, I need a refocus."
2 things: First, to expect to never have a slip-up along the road is ridiculous.  You are breaking habits, thought patterns, coping mechanisms, IT IS HARD.  It does require a daily decision of what you want and move forward.  But this is life and you are not super-human.  The faster you can accept that, give yourself permission to be imperfect, and practice resilience after the fact, the more empowered you'll feel.  Not because you strayed (because that would be illogical considering your goals), but because you are taking care of the essence of YOU.  Resilience is strength.  Discipline and willpower are strength.  There is a common theme here...
Second, in the moments of "screw it I don't care...", the fact is you DO care.  Clearly you care enough to get pissed off at yourself.  BUT, when we try to emotionally detach ourselves from that moment we are basically resigning ourselves from personal responsibility because to face it and feel it would directly clash with every effort to be perfect.  Accept that you care because you do.  Half the battle is simply being aware of your thought patterns and habitual behavior often related to coping.  Its what you do from there that will direct your path.

I hope this makes sense.  I face this issue almost DAILY and am truly passionate about breaking free of it.  While I certainly believe we should strive to improve ourselves on every level as human beings, when we exceed our capabilities (which is what perfection is), we dehumanize ourselves and live in bondage.
Been there, done that, bought and burned the t-shirt.

Have a great hump day folks.
And as always, keep pressing forward.