Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

I saw this motivational poster on Fitness, Health, And Confidence and I really love it.

It reads:

Today is another chance to make yourself proud.

When I am feeling like a worthless slug, I forget that it only takes a few, small accomplishments to feel like a superhero. Seriously, the difference between feeling like a complete and utter failure and a successful person is only a few minor chores:

• Exercise for 20 minutes
• Eat within my caloric restrictions
• Clean something in my home
• Do some work to get paid
• Meditate for 15 minutes
• Write in my private journal

Seriously, this is the bare minimum that I have to do to stop feeling like a flatulent bum. It’s such a low bar, but it is so essential for my mental health.

The saddest thing is that I FORGET! I forget that all I have to do is this small list of things to be happy. I can wallow in sadness and lethargy for DAYS without remembering that this is all I have to do to get myself out of the pit.

Why?

Why? I’ll tell you: PERFECTIONISM. My mind is wired for perfectionism and it’s not enough for it to exercise for 15 minutes. It has to do an hour of cardio and a full weight-training routine. 20 minutes of walking on a treadmill might be enough to get me out of a depressive funk, but that’s not good enough for my poor, broken mind. Because it sets such impossible standards, I end up doing NOTHING. Instead of doing the measly 20 minutes on the treadmill, I avoid exercise altogether because doing an hour is too hard.

SET YOUR GOALS LOW! Seriously, just set them low and meet them, every freakin’ day. If you do more than your goals, great, but don’t raise the bar. Keep your goals at that minimum and you just might accomplish more than you ever have done before. Be humble about your abilities, accomplish something EVERY day, and you will feel like a superhero instead of a slug.