In my medical training, one of my most beloved mentors used to look at me and say "Melissa, don't let perfect get in the way of good." I was a bit of a perfectionist.
It's become a personal mantra for me over the years and it came to mind again lately after I watched Disney's Lightyear - the prequel of sorts to the Toy Story movies. No worries - this is not a movie review, but I have to share my one big take-away…because it applies so much to this food sensitivity journey we're on.
We all have expectations of our lives - where we'll live, what we'll be when we grow up, what love will look like. I don't know that most of us walk around dreaming of what we'll eat (until, of course, we're living with food restrictions) but I believe it fits into the same bag of hopes and dreams.
We each have an expectation of the ideal life that is waiting out there for us to either build or find.
And then life happens. We end up, like Buzz Lightyear, on a planet nowhere near what we consider ideal and we spend all of our time and energy trying to get back on a course that will get us to where we really want to be or where we feel we "should" be.
Ever consider what you may be missing by focusing on the plan and the future instead of living in this moment right now? Even with food sensitivities?
Here's the big question - what if you took that less than ideal situation and actually put it to use? What if you used it to learn more about your amazing body? Or about how strong you are - physically, emotionally and mentally - and how you can share that strength and wisdom with others? What if you used that time and energy to build a true and loving support system that can help you through anything?
What could you learn about you by paying attention to today's steps in the journey instead of staying focused on and pushing for what you wish had happened instead?
From personal experience, I can tell you it is often easier to focus miles down the road than to pay attention to the right now because in this moment it is too easy to focus on what we've done wrong or what we should have done differently or how things will 'never' change. I get it.
So let's take care of that bit right here. I'm working on embracing what I call the Three Truths (and these apply to so many situations, but ABSOLUTELY to food sensitivities):
- You are not crazy.
- You are not broken.
- You've not done anything wrong.
When someone else (or your own mind) starts telling you all of the things you've done wrong and that's why you're here with food sensitivities (or any other number of situations), try to see them as the lies they are.
These are your truths:
- You are not crazy - your symptoms are real.
- You are not broken - food sensitivities are figure-outable!
- You've not done anything wrong - you've done the best you could with the info you had.
Once you start to embrace those truths here in this moment and this situation, it becomes so much easier to focus on today and what you can learn, what you can change and how you can heal.
Don't let the idea of perfection get in the way of a good day today.
Sixty-second Self-care Tip…
OK…let's get practical. What is that health goal you've been chasing? Run through these few questions with that goal in mind and see what comes up!
When was the last time you revisited your goal to see if it's still important to you? Taking a look at it now, is it still important? Does it support your Heart Goal? (Not sure what a Heart Goal is? Take a peek here.)
When was the last time you evaluated your plan to achieve that goal? What have you learned about yourself or the topic recently? Based on that new information, what changes can you make to your plan that may get you to your goal more quickly?
If you truly embrace the Three Truths, what about that goal or your plan change?
What is the one thing you can do today that will move you toward your goal? Just one thing.
Hope you know I think you're pretty amazing and I totally have your back on this food sensitivity journey! Looking for where to start figuring out your food sensitivity puzzle? Consider getting a copy of my free download: Food Sensitivity Testing: Which Test is Right for You?