Perfection vs Consistency

Perfection vs Consistency

-Erin Carraway

How often are you perfect?  As a parent, an employee, a business owner, athlete, or eater, many of us think that if we are “just perfect”, we will find success.  I’m not sure anything works that way – and perhaps a little mind hack can help to produce more success.

Take eating as an example.  For me, clean eating is hitting each of my macronutrients grams (proteins, fats and carbs), within 3, plus or minus grams each day…perfection.  While I take a great deal of pride in nailing them each day, and will even track unbroken days to get some momentum going, I have found great progress towards my goals from consistently nailing them, and that perfection is an unhealthy obsession.  Mostly because being imperfect sets up a kind of Absolutism that is very difficult to maintain.  A common adage, is the imperfect plan you follow is better than perfect plan you don’t.

Same thing in the gym…I have been taught, by the coaches and my ever-present PT, that perfect form in slow and controlled movements yields great results, especially as I am re-training 40-50 year old movement patterns.  Furthermore, all of our coaches are well-trained and committed to getting us (the members) moving as well as possible.  The goal then, is for us to move exceptionally well in practice, so when the met-con comes and we all want to push ourselves, the better movement pattern will be a default.  Again, perfection, when moving fast and getting your heart rate up, will be very difficult to maintain, but consistency is attainable.

Try a simple shift from trying to be perfect, to being consistent.