This is one of my favorite core values to write on, and I believe one of the most important mindset tips when it comes to creating a Fit and Fabulous life, as well as, exercising and eating healthy consistently.

I’ll start out by saying that I’m a recovering perfectionist, and by recovering, I mean with the ability to go back to perfectionism at any given moment, especially if I am under pressure, stressed, feeling like I might fail at something new, or feeling anxious about something in general.

However, something finally clicked for me over the last couple of years regarding perfectionism.  There is NO PERFECT!  It’s all made up in our heads, and what I started to realize was that all this fear of getting something wrong, failing at a goal, making a mistake, &/or looking like I have no idea what the hell I’m doing, was just keeping me STUCK IN LIFE!  It was keeping me playing a small game and not going for what I really wanted, not finishing something and making excuses about why I wasn’t finishing a project or goal, or even worse….NOT EVEN STARTING on a task or project.  Kind of hard to move forward if I’m not even getting started!

Perfectionism for me also looks like excessive multi-tasking; taking on so many projects at once and appearing super busy so that no one will really notice when I don’t finish a project or give up on one of my goals.  When you are super busy, it is so easy to really FAKE people out by pretending that you have all your sh*t together and really know what you’re doing…when you really don’t.  I’m a real pro at this one 😉

Can any of you relate to this? Do I have any fellow perfectionists out there?

When it comes to diet and exercise, perfectionism looks a lot like the ALL or NOTHING approach!  Hopping from plan to plan, gym to gym, workout to workout, and really in the end not being consistent with ANYTHING!  Friends, acquaintances, and people at the gym say it to me all the time, I’m either, “ALL or NOTHING, there is no in-between for me.”  “I’m either eating healthy 100% of the time and going to the gym everyday, or I’m eating junk food and being a couch potato!”

Some of you already know my response to that 100% talk which usually involves restriction, deprivation, &/or over exercising….”Yeah,…How’s that working for ya?”  I even wrote a blog about this topic a couple of weeks ago.  Feel free to check it out, if you’d like to.

AAAAAAhhhhhh!  Perfectionism is so EXHAUSTING, right!  So, I finally had to choose to GIVE UP being a perfectionist before it caused me to have a MELT DOWN!

So what can we do to start switching our mindset to Progress not Perfection?

I think the most important step is to just take ACTION and TRUST in the PROCESS.  I spent most of my life in the “Ready…Aim…Fire (Action)” mentality.  I spent so much time thinking about what I was going to do and how it was going to turn out that I never took ACTION!  Recently, I’ve taken on the mentality of “Ready….Fire (Action)…..Aim…..Aim…..Aim….”  I take Action that may not turn out “Perfect”, but I can adjust or change direction at anytime!

Taking ACTION moves us forward!   I think Nike says it best, “Just DO It!”  We’ll figure it all out during the process.  And remember, it’s okay to make mistakes, this is how we learn what works for us or doesn’t work for us.  Just trust yourself….you definitely know more than you think you do!

We Don’t Have to Know the PERFECT Diet or Workout, we just have to START

For example, you may not know the “Perfect” or “Best” workout to do, but you can go out and be active doing something!  You can start with walking, biking, or taking a group ex class at your local gym.  If you want to try a specific sport or get into weight training, hire a coach to support you in getting started.  Remember, when practicing the progress mindset, you may start an activity and not like it, that’s okay!  You have the choice to try a different activity until you find what you like.  You don’t have to quit all together or worse…not even start at all!

When it comes to diet, start simple and build gradually!  Guess what, there is no one size fits all when it comes to a person and what works for them when it comes to diet.  However, just start somewhere. Could you drink more water?  Could you reduce the amount of processed or packaged food you are eating?  Reduce Sugar?  Start with one thing, and only focus on that for a couple of weeks, keeping everything else the same.

[bctt tweet=”Small consistent changes = Sustainable Results!”]

Just because, you make healthy choices all day long and then eat a candy bar for dinner doesn’t mean that you have to give up all together….just get right back to it and start practicing again!  You could even take this one step further by asking yourself, “Why did I just eat that candy bar?”  Was I tired, nervous, didn’t eat enough protein or carbohydrates earlier in the day, etc.?  These types of questions help us to plan better the next time or keep progressing and learning about ourselves.

Focus on Behavior Goals instead of Outcome Goals

I really believe in focusing on behaviors instead of outcomes when it comes to making changes with diet and exercise habits. For example, a behavior goal is eating slow, exercising, drinking more water, and eating more veggies.  You can just check the box that you did it! You aren’t concerned with what types of water, exercise, or veggies you are eating.  It’s just that you didi it. Changing behaviors one step at a time is practicing the progress mindset.  The focus is on getting 1% better everyday, trying new things, and learning what works best for YOU!

An outcome goal, is I’m going to lose ___ lbs by _______.  If this outcome goal is too strict or rigid, and then you don’t make that goal, it is easy to become discouraged and give up (ALL or NOTHING approach).

It’s also a good practice to write down affirmations and values that you have where you can see them everyday, whether it be on a post-it note or in a journal somewhere.  It’s great to have a reminder of what you are committed to where you can see it every day.  One of my best friends, Piper, had this cool bracelet made for her and I as a reminder to stay in the progress mindset!    Even though I don’t wear it everyday, I keep it on my dresser so that I see it every day.

[bctt tweet=”What are you going to do that reminds you to stay in the progress mindset?”]

So for this week and the rest of my life, I’m working on: Progress not Perfection.  And believe me, I want all the support I can get with this.  Will you join me?  If so, let me know how it’s going in the comments below.