So my Health Challenge is almost done. Only one more week left. Have I lost eight pounds like I thought I could/should? Umm, no. Have I eaten less desserts/sweets? Yes! I have definitely done better, though not perfect, at not having dessert every day. Have I realized that I eat too much food sometimes, not just too much desserts? Yes! I thought my main problem was sweets, and if I cut those out I'd lose weight. But my mind? or whatever is so tricky, I just eat more of other foods to make up for the lack of sweets!
So I haven't lost as much weight as I wanted. But I have gained a new friend. She helped me decorate my bedroom, we went running together, we've laughed together, sent LOTS of texts, and supported each other through the challenge. Fun! I don't know why it's taken me so long to open up enough to get someone to do something like this with me. (Well, maybe I do know why, but that's another story).
The point is, I've been thinking about my 'issues' with food. And it's tied to my 'issue' of wanting to look good to other people on the outside in many ways. The way my house looks, the way I look. And that is all tied to 'issues' with perfectionism. I read an excellent article tonight in BYU Magazine (the magazine for alumni), titled "That's How the Light Gets In". This article is all about our desires for THE correct answer to something, or doing things 'Perfect" every time we do anything. The author, Tyler J. Jarvis, says, "You could say we are paralyzed by perfection." Well, I am the Queen of that! The Queen of not doing things til I can do them perfectly, thus there are many things I didn't do soon enough or wasn't brave enough to try!!!!
Jarvis gives four steps to becoming unparalyzed: 1) Admit and Accept Imperfection. I love the example he gives of his wife as a missionary. She and her companion wanted to obey ALL the mission rules exactly. But when they couldn't fit everything in their schedule, they realized it would take 25 hours/day! So they had to make do with an approximation, or in other words, admit and accept imperfection. But I've learned as I've taught PE full-time the past two years, 90% of success is just showing up! I may not be a perfect PE teacher, but if I just show up, I'm pretty good! That's accepting imperfection.
2) Work Hard to Get Your Best Approximation. "..admitting and accepting imperfection allows us to find imperfect but workable solutions to our personal and spiritual problems---but these solutions still require deep thought and hard work".
3) Act on Your Best Approximation. God wants us to take action! Go for it! Just do it! We WILL make mistakes! But do it anyway, because that is how we learn.
4) Do It Again. Meaning, repeat steps 1-3. As we do this, our knowledge will be refined and we will improve.
In Leonard Cohen's song "Anthem", we read:
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.
"Our bells are cracked. But let's ring those bells that still can ring. Stop worrying about your failure to achieve perfection---perfection is not possible in this life. Instead embrace the light and healing power of Christ that come in through our cracks and imperfections. There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in."
I love that idea. Now I'm doing the hard work to find my best approximation of eating healthy.
