Why he’s down 40 pounds but feels like a failure.
“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”
On Tuesday, a client asked, “John, I feel like I’m not making much progress and I’m getting discouraged. What should I do?”
This same client was 290 pounds on August 1st. Today, he’s 250 pounds.
He’s lost 40 pounds, and he feels like a failure. How insane is that?
Except it’s not insane. I see it all the time.
We humans are good at focusing on the future and focusing on the bad.
What’s next?
What am I doing wrong?
Why aren’t I going faster?
Researchers have found that 80% of our thoughts during a given day are negative and 95% are repetitive. In other words - not helpful!
If you’re frustrated after a plateau, like when your scale has you convinced that it’s broken and stuck on the same number for weeks, zoom out and think about how far you’ve come.
It’s not always easy to pat yourself on the back. But celebrating your hard work every now and then is energizing.
It may even jump start you to get back on track.
If nothing else, a refreshing change of pace from the negative and repetitive norm. Give yourself some credit - you’ve earned it!
Then, keep your head down and continue putting in the work. If you can do that for weeks, months, and years at a time, only good things will come.
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