How to be perfect?

At some level, we all strive to be perfectionists. After all, perfectionists are seen as dedicated, driven, detail oriented and, well, perfect. Those sound like good skills to have, right? But you could be dedicated, driven, detail-oriented and still not be perfect. So what's the elusive ingredient? Honestly, I have no idea, but instead of trying to find out, let's consider what would happen if you aimed for 'good enough', rather than perfection. And since we spend so much of our day, thinking about or consuming food, let's look at 'good enough' in that context.

Good enough - are we there yet?

Assuming that you set your goals properly (return to GO if you need to do that step first), you should have a good sense of the direction you're heading. But it's easy to lose sight of the goal when you're stuck in the weeds. The beauty of using 'good enough' as a benchmark is that you don't have to worry about getting stuck in the weeds. If your actions keep you moving forward (even mere inches closer to your goal), then good enough. Conversely, if certain actions don't move you towards the goal, you accept it and move on. If at the end of the day, or the week, you can say that overall you still moved towards the goal, then give yourself a pat on the back and move on. Good enough. Think about what you ate before reading this post. Was it a perfect meal? Did it have exactly the right amount of protein, fat and carbohydrates that you needed at that moment? Did you consume it under optimal conditions - low stress, adequate night's sleep, well hydrated, etc? How do you accurately measure these things? In a world of 'good enough', the internal conversation about your meal might include asking:

• Did elements of the meal move me towards my goal of eating healthier?

• Was the meal slightly better than what I would have eaten before setting my goal?

• Did I take the time to enjoy the meal?

These questions sound much more manageable to me and are certainly easier to answer. In fact, if any of the answers to the questions above are 'yes', then you're well on the way to 'good enough'. And eventually, enough 'good enough' adds up to success.

Failure? What's that? When we aim for perfection, it's easy to miss the target and then feel like a total failure. Plus, the goal posts of perfection are always moving so how do we even know when we've reached it? What I love about 'good enough' is that there's no such thing as failure. If you are moving generally in the right direction, you're on the right track. And if you're not moving in the right direction, you just need to ask yourself what small step you can take today to get there. Go back to the meal you were thinking about earlier. Under the perfection scenario, what steps could you take to rectify the meal so that you could reach perfection? You could weigh out all your food and calculate your caloric needs. But, that would get you an estimate at best which is somewhat short of perfection. With 'good enough', if all of your answers to those questions were 'no', then what could you do today to move towards the goal? You could add some colourful veggies to your next meal. You could remember to eat slowly. Or you could remind yourself of how you used to eat and realise that in fact you're miles ahead. Again, all pretty simple and effective steps.

Celebrate good times, come on!

You might have worked out by now that I'm big on celebrating acheivements. I'm a fan of 'good enough' because it enables you to celebrate a good week, month, or day of moving in the right direction. Perfection is a bit of a party pooper in that regard. Sure, there's a gala ball when you get there, but who ever gets to go to that ball? Still think perfection is worth it? How's it working out for you? Try both methods, and let us know how you get on!

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#eat