GRACE
“I will hold myself to a standard of Grace, not Perfection.”
Grace. You’d think this would be the easier one for me, for us all, but it’s not. I don’t know if it’s my Catholic upbringing, being a female, especially in the Midwest, or my era (I welcomed 40 in last year) but I have THE hardest time with forgiving myself or cutting myself slack. I’ve quite seriously apologized to inanimate objects I’ve bumped into. Who does that? The sad thing is, I can feel in my bones, that a few of you are mentally raising your hands.
We apologize for being in the same spot another shopper is in, for grabbing the last paper in the news stand, for running a few minutes late, or feeling like we took up too much air time in a conversation. When given a compliment, I often shrug it off and explain why I don’t deserve the praise. Oh this outfit? Thrift shop purchase. The new PR I set for myself? Must have just had a good energy day. These killer brownies? It’s just a great box mix.
This has to stop. We need to practice gratitude and GRACE. Thank the person that waited for you, don’t apologize and make it awkward. Give them appreciation and keep it positive. Gracefully accept that compliment. You have earned it. Again, positivity.
In my last post I spoke of my subconscious desire for perfection. I’m going to let the cat out of the bag: I’m not perfect. Neither are you. (Unless Jason Momoa is reading this... you sir, are perfect.) It’s an illusive goal that wreaks havoc on our well being. Let’s put it to rest, with each other’s support, and focus on GRACE, shall we?
GRACE is accepting the fact that we like potato chips (or cookies, or pizza, or wine.) Indulge mindfully and treat yourself to measured amounts once in awhile rather than making it off limits and risk overdoing it later.
GRACE is accepting that the schedule may say you are supposed to run 2 miles today (or ten or twenty for you crazy lovable distance people) but today, you just need to change it to power walking to avoid injury. Or maybe you just don’t have the energy for cardio at all, so you lift for 15 minutes. Our bodies have unique energy flows. Hit it hard when you can, and adjust accordingly when you cannot. It’s about the collective effort, not any one isolated workout.
GRACE is accepting that our goals may need to be adjusted as we go. Life happens. Curveballs are thrown at us everyday. Life will keep happening so the goal becomes to just keep moving forward, even in the smallest of ways, especially on days it seems impossible- and remembering we can make edits as we go. We are a living document!
GRACE is accepting yourself. It’s that simple. Acceptance and love. Let’s focus on that everyday.
You are worth it.