You are doing enough. You are doing fricking great!
Getting caught in the health trap of never enjoying good health and always focusing on what you can do better.
If you are interested in good health, it can be easy to get fanatical about it. There are thousands of books, gurus, podcasts and apps to help keep you on track. Yet all of these well intended aids can also induce anxiety about not doing enough.
Information is now so readily available with thousands of doctors, scientists and researchers spreading their knowledge and latest findings. If you want to understand the why about anything, this is amazing. Yet sometimes it can be a little overwhelming.
We tend to focus on what we can improve on as opposed to what we are doing well already.
Beating yourself up for not being perfect every day
If you are a perfectionist and a control freak, you can probably relate.
I am a firm believer in leading by example. I like to practice what I preach, or else I feel like a fraud. And I have a hard time accepting I will never be perfect. Result = Feeling I’m not doing enough.
I set myself targets such as cook from scratch every day, eat a rainbow of veg, exercise daily, no alcohol, sleep at least 8 hours, practice mindfulness, etc etc etc.
And then I beat myself up:
- I didn’t eat green leafy veg today
- I gave in to my craving for an ice cream
- I didn’t go to bed early enough last night so I didn’t get enough sleep
- I didn’t have time to cook dinner today so we ordered and it’s not as healthy
When I set my mind to something, I like to stick to it. But sometimes its hard to admit that we don’t live in a perfect world where we can control everything. Some days work is unpredictable, some days you get unexpected news, some days you have arguments with your family. All of these things are normal and can throw your normal healthy habits routine out the window. You just don’t have the time or energy to prioritize the way you would like.
How to prepare for the unpredictable
- Accept you wont be perfect every day — you are human and life happens
- On the good days, cook extra and freeze/refrigerate
- Always keep stock of ingredients for some quick and easy recipes you can ‘cook in your sleep’ for when you’re out of inspiration.
You are doing fricking great!
I came to this realisation recently after a bad week (healthy habits wise).
I had installed another app — Daily Dozen out of curiosity. The idea of this app is to eat at least 12 of the listed wholefoods every day. It is basic but quite insightful and gives you ideas of what else to include in your daily healthy lifestyle routine.
I looked back over my week and tried to complete what I remembered eating. I surprised myself that I was close to a dozen every day, even if I had felt it was a bad day.
This was a stark reminder that we tend to focus on what we can improve on as opposed to what we are doing well already.
I reminded myself of what I am doing well:
- I am focusing on holistic health as a priority in my life
- I am the healthiest I have ever been
- I know more about holistic health than I used to
So if you are actively trying to have a healthy lifestyle, remember to give yourself credit for what you have achieved, alongside setting yourself new targets.
You are doing fricking great!
xx
