I used to blog a decent amount. Nothing like these full time bloggers, but about once a week I’d be inspired to learn about something related to nutrition or fitness and write a blog post to share. Now that I own a gym, you’d think this would be a perfect opportunity to blog as often as I can, but it hasn’t happened the way I imagined. There are lots of excuses I could make, but ultimately it comes down to wanting things to be really, really good. I won’t say perfect since I don’t think perfect really exists, but let’s just say I have high standards.
The problem with this is dragging my feet on writing in the first place. A quote that comes to mind is, “Don’t let the pursuit of perfection get in the way of good.” I would also add, “Don’t let the pursuit of good get in the way of starting.” Because like this blog post right now, I needed to just start it to actually make it happen. Right now as I’m typing, I can think of so many ways this post could be better or I should go back and change sentences, but I know if I try to make it perfect, it will probably be left in the Drafts section much like many other blog posts I’ve started. (sometimes writing just a title and nothing else!)
The same analogy can be said about starting a fitness or diet routine. A lot of people are scared they’re going to be the least fit person in the room, so they have to “get fit” before starting CrossFit. Or if they’re not 100% paleo for 30 days, it’s going to be a failure so they don’t even try. They’re letting the pursuit of perfection get in the way of good and the pursuit of good get in the way of starting. Sometimes we have to just start something and adjust as we go.
I’m not a fan of 5 or 10 year goals because goals change. Technology is the obvious example, but so is mindset. Lots of people come in looking to lose weight and then they realize there’s more to life than just a number on the scale. That pursuing athletic goals like a 200 lb. deadlift or a first pull-up is more satisfying than the aesthetic goals they came in with.
I guess my point is that just starting is usually the hardest part. We focus on the end goal when we really should just start, see how it’s going, and course correct as needed. Don’t let the IDEA of perfect or even good get in the way of DOING something at all.
-Coach Chris