Letting go of perfectionism has been such a freeing thing. With what a mess my life used to look like it’s hard to believe perfectionism played any role. However, during my hardest times I was plagued by knowing I wasn’t going to do anything perfectly, which means failure, and getting paralyzed in indecision or drinking the anxiety and fear away in order to be able to do anything, and then doing it very poorly.
I’ve found such peace in my latest run training cycle. I’m training for the Newport Marathon on October 8th and have learned to embrace imperfection, be comfortable with it, and completely accept good enough. If I’m tired or a little hurt, I rest and don’t push through to meet some stupid training plan. If I’m sluggish and slow on a certain day, so be it. Not everything goes right all the time. I’ve adopted the two slogans (pictured on my fridge and I also have one in my office at work) which I got out of Runner’s World magazine.
Everything is not always going to go according to plan and that, in fact, is the plan. I’m still resistant at times to this thinking but I keep working at it and feel more and more plugged in the more I practice. Who’d have thought that putting in consistent effort, even when not perfect, would be the key? There are always going to be setbacks. Accepting them and then working to overcome them, however long that takes, is the best part of the journey.
I’m rambling … All this to say my new approach has been paying off and I set a new personal record for myself at the Blessing of the Fleet 10 Mile Road Race run this year! And, even if I didn’t, I’d have accepted it, put in more consistent work, and tried again next year. But, for now, I celebrate this one!
Dear Newport Marathon – I can’t wait for October!
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