My most successful clients are the ones that can embrace Imperfect Action.
As a concept, this can change so much in your life; from procrastination to overwhelm and self-doubt, through to your success on your journey to a healthier and happier you.
Do you spend your life waiting for the time to be right, the stars to be aligned and the day to be sunny and bright?
If you have kids, you will likely know there is no right time to have them. You could always have more money, more time, be in a different place work-wise or maybe a different house!
We tell ourselves stories about why we can’t do or change something yet. We need a sign from the divine before we do it.
“When the kids are older.”
“When work isn’t as busy.”
“When I have more time.”
Before I launched The Mum Boss Method, I didn’t feel ready to give up the security of employment. I knew I needed to leave my job because I was desperately unhappy there – and I couldn’t work for the company AND run The Mum Boss Method. It just wasn’t possible anymore. But I had a salary. I had benefits.
Was I 100% ready to become a business owner? No. But I did it anyway and refined my offering as I went.
One of the biggest things that the women I talk to everyday struggle with is always trying to be perfect straight out of the gate. It’s an ‘all or nothing’ mindset.
If I can’t do it 100% then I’m not doing it at all.
For some, Imperfect Action is REALLY hard – especially if you are a perfectionist.
It doesn’t sit right to not do something perfectly the first time around. Many of us have been conditioned in childhood to believe that only perfection will suffice.
Imperfect Action, therefore, can feel like a very foreign concept – but, I promise, it works!
There is no such thing as perfect. And, actually, what we’re looking for is PROGRESS.
We’re eating the elephant one bite at a time. Making small changes, tweaking habits or doing one thing a day that will gradually chip away at that mountain of a challenge so that it becomes more manageable.
How does Perfectionism show up in your fat loss and health?
When we strive for that elusive thing called perfection along our weight loss journey, certain behaviours can show up that, ultimately, have a detrimental impact on the results we will see.
For instance:
Consistency
Tracking food when you believe it’s a good day but giving it a miss when you feel you’re having a bad day.
Working Out
Believing you have to work out 5 days per week for an hour each time and, if you can’t, you determine it’s better to do nothing.
Going Out for Dinner
Overeating and feeling like ‘I didn’t stick to my calorie allowance, so screw it!’.
Stop looking for perfection and just take action. That action can be tiny! It doesn’t have to be a massive one.
Focus on the Process, Not the Destination
A client messaged me recently. She had a number in mind that she wanted to see on the scales, but she realised that the number was not actually the goal. How she would feel for seeing that number on the scales was the real goal!
Working towards that goal meant that my client plunged into overwhelm about the changes she was going to have to make to her behaviour in order to achieve that goal.
There was so much to think about.
She didn’t know where to start.
Often, when it comes to fat loss, we have a goal weight in mind. It is the destination we want to reach. The milestone we will celebrate achieving at the end.
In fact, focussing on the process and celebrating the small wins along the way are far more important!
My advice to my client was this:
Just take one action.
Go for the lunchtime walk. Prep breakfast. Plan what you are going to eat today in MyFitnessPal.
Just do one thing.
Imperfect Action = Long-Term Success
Long-term success does not come from boiling the ocean. I have clients who have been really restrictive and lasted 3 weeks on my programmes. They tried to cut out too much in one go and it wasn’t sustainable.
Long-term success comes from taking the small actions daily that all add up – and not believing that one “bad day” will screw up your progress.
If you’ve had a bad day, it doesn’t mean you are going to have a bad week. Learn from what went “wrong” and use that knowledge to get straight back on track.
Just remember: Progress over Perfection. That is what will get you to where you want to be every single time.
Ready to learn how to put Imperfect Action into practice?
My 5-day FREE Taster of The Mum Boss Boost starts on 24th April.
Join me and, in just 5 days, I will take you through the tools and techniques I use with my clients to help them kick-start their weight loss, lose lbs and get AMAZING results!
Register for free here.