"Progress Is Not Convenient" Stephen Guise*
This fridge picture pretty much sums up my life for the past month. To say that I have been obsessed and consumed with all things healthy would be an understatement. It has definitely NOT been convenient. The perfectionist in me has been screaming STOP this is a mess! I have grocery shopped, cooked, baked, and did the dishes more this past month than I have done in the whole year! Last month's blog post seemed all neat and tidy. I would roll out a list of goals for the upcoming year, break them down into smaller parts and then write about how I am doing. Wouldn't you know that darn thing called LIFE got in the way again. It always seems to do that right when we think we have things all figured out.
In February, I discovered a whole new world of food and health! It was eye opening and I couldn't get enough of it. I began to question the things that I consumed on a daily basis. Do they help heal or harm me? Do they fuel me or deplete my energy? I learned about gluten and dairy and how they cause inflammation in our bodies which can lead to a myriad of problems. And who knew that green smoothies are a great way to start the day! These are just some of the things I learned and I look forward to delving deeper into this subject. So yes, this was progress, but not at all convenient! All of this new information made me realize that sometimes I get stuck in my same familiar ways because it is like a warm blanket I don't want to take off. It is safe. However, it doesn't move me forward. There are those occasions (like this past month) when I decide to try something new and I can become intensely focused to a fault. I tend to be an all or nothing - black or white type person. I grab hold of something and give it all I got until I run out of energy. This is where balance comes into play. How do I become more even-keeled? I think figuring out how to be less of a perfectionist is a good answer to this question and the very reason I am writing this blog!
*I recently discovered author Stephen Guise. He has written several books and also has a great website with wonderful resources. You can learn more about Stephen Guise and his most notable book, Mini Habits at his website http://stephenguise.com/. The premise of this book is that to reach a goal you start with daily mini habits. Stephen Guise says, "A mini habit is a very small positive behavior that you force yourself to do every day; its "too small to fail" nature makes it weightless, deceptively powerful, and a superior habit-building strategy. You will have no choice but to believe in yourself when you're always moving forward." I think focusing on mini habits might enable to me to not lose focus and throw in the towel when I get overwhelmed.
Stephen Guise goes into more detail about mini habits on his website http://minihabits.com/.
I leave you with this thought from Stephen Guise's book, How To Be An Imperfectionist...."Perfectionism (noun): “A disposition to regard anything short of perfection as unacceptable” Having perfectionistic tendencies myself, I know how destructive and frustrating this mindset can be. In this book, I want to make a case that not only compels you but also shows you how to embrace imperfection in your life. Imperfection isn’t bad, it’s freedom. (To be clear, “perfection” isn’t bad either—by definition, it’s flawless—but perfectionism is problematic.) Perfectionism makes you stay home, not take chances, and procrastinate on projects; it makes you think your life is worse than it is; it keeps you from being yourself; it stresses you out; it tells you that good is bad; and it ignores the natural way in which things work."
Thanks for joining me....that's all for now!