It is only the first weekend of the new year and I’m already getting bombarded with excuses from people who are the only thing standing in their own way. A short list what I’ve heard so far is:
- My new workout shoes / clothes haven’t arrived yet.
- I forgot my headphones at home and I just can’t get a good workout without them.
- My favorite class at the gym is cancelled until Monday.
- My buddy cancelled so we’re going to start together Monday instead.
- I couldn’t find the right sports bra, so I will do double tomorrow.
- I worked out to hard yesterday, now I’m too sore to workout.
- I already messed up my meal plan at breakfast, so I have to start over with day 1 tomorrow.
- I didn’t pack my lunch for work, so I have to start my meal plan tomorrow instead.
- I missed day 3 of my program, so I am going to start week 1 over again on Monday.
- I was running late so I wouldn’t have been able to get in my full hour / half hour / class / etc.
- I don’t have my water bottle, I know it’s important to stay hydrated, so I think it’s better if I wait until I have it.
- I can’t workout at home, I just don’t get as good of a workout, followed by all of the excuses mentioned above as to why they did not go to the gym.
I could probably go on for pages. I think you get my point so I will spare you.
I cannot get past the fact that so many people are worried about being RIGHT or doing it PERFECT that they don’t do ANYTHING. This level of perfectionism is one of the biggest forms of self sabotage I see every day as a life transformation specialist. People are so afraid of failing, of judgement, of not having all their i’s dotted and t’s crossed, that they are freaking paralyzed. They are cemented to the ground exactly where they are in life, because it’s it’s not perfect, it doesn’t count.
I recently asked over on my Facebook page, Creating a Destiny, if people thought that it was better to floss doing an “okay” job 6 days a week, or doing one totally amazing perfect job, 1 day a week. As you can guess, 99% of people said 6 days a week. There was of course the 1% who had some crazy explanations and such LOL, but overall, when it came to dental care, the answer was clear as day. Why is it that I cannot help people see that consistent effort, even below your absolute best, is going to get you a million times further than doing your best, but only doing it occasionally, will ever get you?
I see people constantly who do it “perfect” for 2 weeks, maybe a month, and then fall off the wagon, and they fall hard. They yo-yo diet, and binge eat, and say “oh I’m just an all or nothing type of person” and write it off as a character flaw they are stuck with. You know how I know that’s BS? Because that was ME for 15 years.
I personally workout at home now. I started my journey in the gym, and because I wanted to coach others using in home workout programs, I committed to a self imposed gym ban for 90 days. I quickly learned a few things: I never missed the start of class, I never got stuck in traffic, I never had to work too late and missed the gym hours, I never had to wait in line for a treadmill, I never had to look for parking, I never had to get their early to get a pass for a popular class, I never had to wait for a machine, I never forgot my lock, my phone never died …
As you can imagine, I found a lot of reasons to make my workout everyday, and for the first time in my ENTIRE LIFE I workout every day (including active rest days) for 90 straight days. I can tell you right now, 80% of them were not perfect. 80% were “not as good” as if I had worked out at the gym with all that energy around me. 80% of them I probably kicked my couch or almost knocked over my TV LOL. 20% of them were AMAZING!!! Just as good, if not better than the gym. With no worries of anyone looking, or doing the moves right, or comeptimg mentally with the person on the elliptical next to me, they were fantastic.
Guess what that equals? 80% okay + 2-% amazeballs = 100 FREAKING % DONE.
You know what that means for me? That means 4 years of keeping weight off, after 15 years of losing 30-50 lbs every couple years, and gaining back MORE every time. 4 years of peace in my relationship with food. 4 years of of “okay” workouts, that I am totally OKAY with 😉
Now of course this is just ONE example of how this applies in life. I see this with people in their coaching businesses all the time. I see it in people with their kids, with travel, with relationships, with personal development, with school. The list goes on. Everyone just paralyzed in a life they are unhappy with, waiting for the stars to align, and for their ship to come in.
There is never going to be a right time. The circumstances with rarely be perfect. The difference between successful people, and the people who continually fail to get what they want in life, is that successful people take ACTION EVERY DAY. Small, imperfect, unsexy, flawed, ACTION, every-damn-day.
I hope in 2015 you take small, seemingly unconstitutional action, toward your goals and dreams, every day. My wish for you, is that you stop sabotaging yourself with fear and hiding it behind a label of being a “perfectionist”. You are good enough, and you can do this.
As always, if you need anything at all, you can always find me amber@creatingadestiny.com <3
P.S. Remember to floss your teeth!!!
