It’s about progress, not perfection

Have you recently lost body fat or gained some muscle? Maybe you were able to stop using all those medications for your high blood pressure. Didn’t you put up 10 more pounds on squats last week?

Hopefully you are nodding your head up and down to one of those statements, but maybe you’re not. Maybe you don’t have any tangible measure of progress lately, all you have been doing is plugging away at those behaviour-based goals.

What do all of the aforementioned examples deserve? Some recognition and enjoyment!

As humans, we never seem to be satisfied. Nowhere is this more apparent than with body composition goals. I hate to break this news to you, but you will probably never be perfect. I have worked with fitness, figure and bodybuilding competitors who are never satisfied with the amount of body fat or muscle mass they carry. These athletes are at the pinnacle of body composition mastery. However, when you ask them. they are never lean enough, muscular enough, or in good enough condition. They could always be a little bit better.

What does that illustrate? Your physique may never be perfect. Acknowledging this can be reassuring. This week take a minute to enjoy what you have accomplished thus far on your health/fitness journey. Learn to enjoy the process and not just the outcome of everything you do. If you begin to love what you are doing, then you waste less time splitting hairs over the final product.