"Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we're all in this together." — Brené Brown
My husband is a HUGE soccer fan. He's also from Colombia.
So he was VERY excited to go to a Colombian bar to watch Colombia play against Argentina in the final of the Copa America tournament on Sunday night.
I was...less excited...but I still went along for support.
I'm not really a sports fan but I'm willing to dress the part. 😜
I had a long list of things I wanted to get done on Monday,
So I told myself that I would only have 2 beers and that I'd be in bed by 11:30.
Well...
The game got delayed 90 minutes AND went into extra time.
And those 2 beers...they turned into 3.
And that 11:30pm bedtime...it ended up being past 1am.
And Monday's to-do list...didn't get done.
And...I felt pretty crappy about all of it.
And not just because I was exhausted and irritable.
But because I didn't keep my word to myself.
And because my actions didn't align with my values.
Now, even though I'm disappointed that I made bad CHOICES,
I don’t think I’m a bad PERSON for making them.
Instead, I think that I’m a human who sometimes makes decisions that go against her best interests and her deeper values.
A human that ISN’T perfect.
Just like every other human on the planet.
I went back and forth with myself over whether or not I should share this story.
My perfectionist tendencies were telling me:
"That's not a good example to set as a health coach."
But pretending that I'm perfect isn’t going to help anybody,
NORMALIZING imperfection is.
Because imperfection IS the path to happiness, self-acceptance and growth.
Change doesn't happen when you're doing "everything right".
It happens when you face your mistakes with compassion, honesty, understanding,
...and learn from them rather than shame yourself for them.
So here's your gentle reminder that if you truly want to change your habits,
If you want to eat healthier or exercise regularly or start meditating or go to bed earlier...
You probably don't need more discipline or willpower,
What you DO need is to get better at dealing with mistakes,
To stop expecting yourself to be perfect,
And to embrace the messy practice of trying to do just a little bit better everyday.
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