Stop Waiting for Perfection
Last fall, I thought my life had really changed.
Coming off a mental toughness program called 75 Hard, I was in the best physical and mental shape of my adult life. If you are unfamiliar with 75 Hard, here is an overview of the program guidelines you must follow.
I remember when I first read the details about the program, I said to Ashley, “I want to do this! But I really don’t want to do this! But I want to do this!” (The not having sweets for 75 days was my struggle!)
You ever had that exact same mindset about something in your life? I sure enough have, and this time was no different. I decided to not overthink it and start the next day. After all, if you never start, you have no chance of ever finishing.
After a crazy 75 days, I was feeling, doing, and looking good. Well, the first 2 of those 3 things were true!
I lost about 45 pounds. My exercises leaned high in cardio with many runs and rucks (having a weighted bag while walking/running). I completed 3 marathons and a few half marathons over about a 3 week period near the end. My doctor was super pleased with my transformation. I was “committed” to continue to read and grow. Life was good!
And then the unplanned happened about a month after my Day 75. Early one morning while out on a run, the top of my foot started hurting really bad. No adjustments to my stride brought relief. I discovered back peddling was my only option to get back to meet the guys from F3 I workout with. Two miles of running backwards left my calves screaming at me for days! After taking the advice of a doctor, a couple of weeks rest was deemed the best medicine due to my extreme overuse and possible hairline fracture.
A couple of weeks turned in to over 3 months.
Every time I would attempt to start again, I would be reminded that my foot just wasn’t what it used to be. Then I let my frustration get the best of me. Since I couldn’t exercise at the level I was at before I got hurt, I just didn’t do much of anything physically at all. My lack of exercise got me down and became my “new” excuse to not make time to read. And I already had a lifetime of expertise at running to food when emotions were out of wack. My retreat back to my old ways was quick and quiet and the numbness grew heavier after every failed new attempt.
I realized that I was good to do big things, only when the situation was ripe, easy and “perfect.” BUT the moment adversity came rolling along, my excuses were next to it riding shotgun, like a bunch of teenagers looking for a good time late night in the Wal-Mart parking lot. (That’s an image you can relate to, I’m sure!)
That’s when the wife of one of my college buddies inspired me.
She had just finished 75 Hard herself, and I reached out to celebrate with her, knowing personally how tough a journey she had just completed. When telling her of my situation and bad excuses due to my injury, she said something that proved to be just the right dose of antibiotics for my frustrated complacency issues.
““I had to learn a lot about letting good enough be good enough. Do what you can with your foot, and forget about the rest. Don’t let your idea of perfection stop you from taking the next right steps for where you are.””
Wow!
That was definitely Allison’s opportunity to drop the mic if she so chose to do so! By the way, she doesn’t even know the impact her message had on me… yet! (If you are reading this Allison, THANK YOU!)
We all have areas of our lives that we simply want to be better at. Our marriages. Parenting our kids. Our health. Friendships. Finances. Our job. Our passions. “I could go on forever, Baby!” (Cue up the Home Alone 2- Gangster Movie!)
We also have something (maybe more than one) that we allow to be our chief excuse and reason that cripples our ability to move forward in this life. Since I couldn’t start where I was, I was choosing to postpone progress until… and my until had no arrival date in sight.
These two phrases have been what I have strived to live by these last few months as I just finished another round of 75 Hard…
“Do what you can, and forget about the rest.”
Something is better than nothing!
Here is an inside look at my super simple process of growth these days...
Identify tangible steps to help me become the person God created me to be / and any goals I feel led to achieve, and write them down. (This step is full of reflection, frustration, hope, excitement, dreams, doubts, determination, and prayer!)
Incorporate those steps into my daily actions. (I have become a big fan of making lists. It helps me to make my thoughts visible, determine what is most important, and if I actually lived in that manner as the day comes to an end! I try my best to focus daily on making progress. Little steps can get you where you want to go, even if it takes you a little longer than you wish!)
Evaluate what is going on when I miss a day, or I’m just “off” and struggling, and what it will take to fix it. (Notice I said “when I miss a day", not “if I miss a day.” If I believe things HAVE to be perfect, I allow one mistake to completely derail my mission. But remembering that something is better than nothing, causes any rising shame due to failure to disappear, and reactivates me to correct my actions quickly!)
Accept that there are things I just can’t control. (Our lives can become saturated with us trying to fix things we simply can’t. So I must daily turn those areas over to God, trust Him, and do my best, to be faithful to His leading.
Completing 75 Hard didn’t change my life like I thought it did. But it did give me a gift that needed to be unwrapped. And inside that gift was an incredible lesson about how powerful it can be to show up, every single day. Compound interest. 1% growth. Little by little.
If you are overwhelmed at all that you long to become, and all that you want to see and do in this world, you know what that makes you?
Normal.
Choose today to stop waiting for perfection!
Oh, you think everything lined up perfect for the other people who did great things? Nope!! If you need a reminder of that, check out my blog post “That Was Easy.”
Walking may not be running, but it sure is better than just sitting on the couch, wishing I was back to my old form- (my idea of perfection.) Things may never go back to your idea of what perfection should or could be.
SO chose to start anyway!
I believe that something is better than nothing! Do what you can today and forget about the rest! I’ll bet you’ll amaze yourself at what you are capable of IF you’ll simply begin to put into action what has been so heavy on your heart.
Even if you are scared.
Better yet, ESPECIALLY if you are scared! I know I was when I started this blog. (I still am!)
There is good to be found in today because YOU are still breathing. And you have SO much to offer. Scroll up and steal any of these steps that have been helping me lately. I would be honored!
Identify. Incorporate. Evaluate. Accept. (Repeat)
In the weeks to come, I’ll share with you about what Ashley and I are starting TODAY as we work together to improve our health. I’d love to hear what you are going after yourself! You can do it!
Now go make it happen!
#todaysgonnabeagoodday
