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Is aiming for perfection stressing you out?

Progress not perfection
Is aiming for perfection stressing you out?

This week I’ve had a bit of a reminder how putting so much pressure on ourselves to achieve, be perfect and always on top of things can leave you feeling way more stressed out!

You think you’re trying to be super organised and efficient but all that ends up happening is you get down on yourself and stressed. It might just take one thing going wrong and you feel crap. Another week where you simply just can’t do it. You’re a failure…..

Whether it’s trying to stick to a rigid diet, fitting in a certain amount of exercise or trying to be the perfect Mum. All of these expectations we place on ourselves can leave you feeling worse when we think we’re doing it to feel better.

At the end of the day don’t we all just want to FEEL great, enjoy each day and BE HAPPY!

It sounds pretty simple right? Then why are we placing so much pressure on ourselves to do everything and do it perfectly?

I’ve noticed that over the years we are judging each other more and when someone has it all going on and achieving great things they are placed on a bit of a pedestal. So we all strive to achieve, work more, do more to reach this place where we think it’s going to feel awesome. When the reality is what we reach is a place where we are far more stressed out, depressed and not really enjoying the small things.

The last few years for me have been super busy. Business has grown a lot and from the outside it looks great but from my perspective I have less time to enjoy the things truly important to me. Family, friends and enjoying each day.

So how do we find the balance?

I think one of the first things is to work out WHAT TRULY MAKES YOU HAPPY. What’s your REASON for doing what you do? What makes you smile and makes you feel great?

When you know your why, it makes it easier to make decisions and changes. For me my WHY is my family, friends and just enjoying each and every day! I love helping others so I love what I do but there also needs to be that balance so I have the TIME to enjoy the little things.

Next you might need to LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS! Do you really need to do everything TODAY? Do you have to leave the house in perfect order? Is it the end of the world if you plan a takeout night once a week? If you miss a workout and take the kids to the park instead, is that bad?

Whenever I work with one of my clients I’m always big on aiming for CONSISTENCY not perfection. It’s normal to have a crappy day, even a crappy week. It doesn’t make you a failure. It doesn’t make you weak or a bad person. It doesn’t mean you won’t achieve your goals. It means you’re HUMAN. We can still achieve our goals, enjoy life and be truly happy but does it need to be on a set timeline?

I love working with my online personal training clients as we really get to build up a great relationship. I think the biggest help they get from me isn’t so much the nutrition or training programs but the fact that I support them each week to JUST KEEP GOING! Our goals are simple. Each week can you aim to get a bit better? What habit can we focus on this week? We look at their lifestyle and what’s realistic for them and work on it from there.

So many people start out and think they are going to have to train every day or twice a day to get results. The funny part is quite often they are doing barely anything now, but think somehow by trying to do a training session every day will get them the results they want. Clients are often surprised when their plan might just have a few sessions each week to start with. The reality is that whatever you’re doing needs to be realistic and achievable. If you set yourself a baseline of what you want to achieve and anything over that is a bonus you are far more likely to succeed.

If you’re trying to lose weight and get fit then BE REALISTIC. If you’ve been doing nothing you might just aim for three sessions a week for the first week and keep a food diary so we can see what to work on first. Start out with some manageable, realistic plan that you can build on as you progress. If you’re nailing the three sessions a week add another one but don’t go all extreme and put heaps of pressure on yourself.  I also find that some people put so much pressure on themselves to achieve a certain level of exercise only to feel so burnt out that they crave sugar and junk to keep them going. Remember your goal is to FEEL BETTER!

STRIVE FOR CONSISTENCY and TO GET BETTER each week. Don’t aim for perfection! I’ve NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER trained anyone that was perfect. You can check out every one of our success stories and NOT ONE of these clients were perfect. They just kept going and never gave up.

So for me personally I’m lowering my expectations of what I can achieve in a day. I’m learning to schedule in nice activities each day as they are JUST if not MORE important than all those jobs. You may actually find you’re more productive when you have more balance in your life.

Life is short and should be enjoyed so make sure whatever you are doing, you are enjoying the journey.

Have an awesome Friday and RELAX this weekend.
You deserve it!
Hilds

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