I am definitely not perfect! I have a lot of adventures every week… But they make me better and better at laughing at myself.
Some of my favorite mistakes just from this past couple of months alone:
I went to play around with some lat pulldowns at a friend’s apartment gym. After struggling through what should have been a set of easy reps for me at 90 pounds, I looked down to see that there was an adjustment knob on the weight stack cranked to the max… and my “90 pound” reps were actually 105 pounds! My reps felt too heavy because they were too heavy. At least I am stronger now.
The next night, it was late and I thought I would be efficient by mixing my recovery supplements (cherry juice and my turmeric blend ) with my last protein shake of the day. I did not take a picture, because you never would have trusted my food recommendations again. It was foamy, gray-ish red, and not unlike the flavor of literal garbage. Do not want.
While we are talking about beverages, let’s decide not to mention the part where I drank coffee accidentally at 11 o’clock Sunday night because I thought it was my protein shake, all because I didn’t even look at the container before I tossed it back.
If we can rewind farther back, let’s look at my first half marathon training, now about 10 years ago. I knew about proper running shoes and thought I was “knowledgeable” enough about training at the time, so I did the best possible thing: cobbled together a training plan that pushed distance AND speed aggressively based on the advice of several popular bloggers, REFUSED to take walking breaks, bring water on my runs (running with a water bottle in your hand throws off your gait!), or refuel during my long or tough runs (it’s just training! why do I need fuel?). Thankfully, I burnt out on my abusive, ignorant training plan about 6 weeks in and coasted into my first half marathon having never run more than 10 straight miles…and those were on a treadmill. WHY didn’t I read a book or consult another source of actual knowledge? Maybe because I didn’t think I was a “serious runner” (FYI – 13 miles is serious, even if it’s your first attempt), maybe because I had the foolish over-confidence of an “expert beginner”, maybe a little of both blended in with the idea that I was so afraid to fail that I didn’t want to discuss my half-baked plans with anyone who might slip a little reality into my head.
MISTAKES ARE THE JOURNEY.
Mistakes are not confirmation that you are and will always be a failure. They’re proof that you’re growing, and you CAN NOT GROW without making a few.
Detours are not signs that your internal GPS is broken. They’re proof that you’re on YOUR journey, which is the only route that will lead you to success.
The unknown is not an endless abyss that will swallow all of your attempts to reach your goals. It’s a place of exploration that HAS to be entered in order for you to change.
I did a workout that didn’t make sense because I didn’t look carefully at the setup.
I made a healthy food that didn’t work out as planned.
I made a food choice that didn’t support my goals because I didn’t look carefully.
I ran a half marathon powered by little more than my own foolish pride.
And I learned!
I learned that I should keep my eyes new when I look at my workouts and the contents of my fridge.
I learned that an expert, a real expert and not a blogger with a cute header image (not that they can’t be the same), can help you find the best and shortest path to your goals, but that wandering in the wilderness is its own teacher, too.
And I learned that turmeric really doesn’t belong in a protein shake.
MISTAKES ARE THE JOURNEY.
The journey is your progress. There is no progress without mistakes.
Perfectionism gets you nowhere, because it doesn’t exist. Perfectionism is endlessly filling a bucket with a hole in the bottom.
Embrace your mistakes. Love them, learn from them. Accept them as proof that you’re transforming.
Then, take the next step forward.
