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Doing Your Best IS Good Enough!

"Excellence is not a skill. It's an attitude. Excellence comes not from education, money, ability or connections alone. It comes from a commitment to do the very best with whatever you have available."

This is the opening stanza of a poem by Ralph Marston, Jr. on the topic of excellence that came to mind during a conversation with a fellow instructor at the fitness club I teach at. She had said, "I sure wish our members would give themselves more credit for the wonderful effort they give to their exercise programs. So many forget to give themselves credit for doing the best they can, no matter what anyone else is doing."

The media and advertisers of all types of products would have you believe that you will never look good enough. You will always hear the message that there's more you could and should do to improve yourself. Where's the balanced perspective? The more appropriate question is "Am I doing the best I can?" Pursuing perfection is not the answer to your workout regimen. Striving for excellence is. The attitude of excellence is a far better measure of success than the pursuit of perfection. Excellent attitudes promote positive behaviors, a grace-filled acceptance of effort and the patient pursuit of goals. Pursuing perfection fuels discontent. Perfectionism calls for extreme efforts and the rigid adherence to expectations and guidelines established by other people who are also discontented. If you're tired of feeling dissatisfied, read on.

Excellence in healthy living is a challenge, yet it is a holistic and attainable goal for all of us-no matter how we look. In her book Love Can Build a Bridge, Naomi Judd beautifully shares the distinction between success and excellence. She said, "Success is achieving or attaining goals that will elevate your importance in society, whereas excellence is striving for quality in your personal work, regardless of whether the culture recognizes it or not . . . excellence is knowing in your heart that you've done your absolute best."

If you're committed to being as healthy as you can during this particular season of your life, your attitude needs to be hopeful and positive. You can't feel that way by looking around at other people's performance or physical attributes.

Our culture is downright neurotic when it comes to pursuing perfection physically. This spring the show "I Want a Famous Face" debuted. This show premiered with the intent of looking at people who don't like their appearance and want to assume the identity (physically) of their favorite celebrity. Nothing is spared in the pursuit of such desires; tummy tucks, liposuction, rhinoplasty, face-lifts, jaw, breast augmentation, chin and cheek implants, lip injections and tooth veneers-the whole deal if necessary.

Newsweek Magazine (April 12, 2004) said, "Famous Face" sends horrendous messages about self esteem and celebrity worship, not to mention potentially demoralizing young viewers who can't afford this kind of plastic happiness." The growing desire, pursuit, and expense put into achieving perfect bodies (as defined by our culture) and it's psychological implications for women is a growing concern as reported by psychologist Rita Freedman, author of Bodylove; Learning to Like Our Looks and Ourselves; A Practical Guide for Women. She calls the increasing use of Botox, Retylane and human collagen injections the "creeping disease." One woman gets Botox and then her neighbor and relatives look at her and feel relatively unattractive and feel they need to do something, too." (Note: Men are undergoing more surgical procedures, as well. This is not strictly a "female" issue. From 1997 to 2002, according to statistics compiled by the American society for Aesthetic Plastic surgery, the number of cosmetic procedures performed on men nationwide increased more than 182 percent.)

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports 8.7 million procedures where done in 2003, with eyebrow lifts, face-lifts and breast implants as the most popular surgeries.

The front cover of the June 7, 2004 issue of People magazine read; "Has TV Plastic Surgery Gone Too Far?" The byline read, "Sixteen women, one hundred fifty-one procedures…" Yes, you read correctly, one hundred fifty-one procedures!

Surgical enhancements themselves are neither good nor bad. The motivation for pursuing these procedures is what needs serious consideration. In a January 2004 article in the Wall Street Journal, staff reporter Antonio Regalado said, "The vast majority of all this nipping and tucking isn't related to any physical illness or impairment. Instead, most patients go under the knife with the aim of improving their emotional well-being. That's why plastic surgery is sometimes called "surgery of the soul."

At what point does the pursuit of personal physical development transition over from positive healthy living to the unnecessary pursuit of perfection? Only you can answer that for yourself.

My encouragement to you is to fully embrace and accept who you are and how you look today and begin (or continue) to make healthy small choices that will over time become evident in your physical body. A wonderful bonus is that your energy and peace of mind will also benefit. Wouldn't it be amazing if we, as individuals and as a culture, began sculpting, toning and strengthening our inner soul before our outer shell? You would begin with your "be-ing."

Use the following five BE-Attitudes to do the best you can and celebrate your efforts in pursuing excellent health habits.

1. Be Aware.
Have you ever been driving and noticed that the radio is on but you can't quite hear it? It's more background noise than music. You either ignore it or you turn it up to hear it more clearly. The same can be said about your self-talk (the chatter in your head). Turn up the volume on your internal chatter so you stop ignoring it and tune into it. Then you can consciously either change your thinking or learn from it. The better you get at catching your negative, perfectionist self-talk tendencies, the sooner you will enjoy the effort you put into your healthy lifestyle habits. Instead of the negative self-defeating comment to yourself, "What good will 30 minutes do on this equipment, I need 30 hours on it!," You could say, "I would like to go for another 20 minutes, but I challenged myself while I was here."

2. Be Realistic.
Stop looking around, literally and figuratively. Reflect on what you want to accomplish with your exercise and nutrition program. Your body, lifestyle, support systems and available time to exercise are different from everyone around you. Look "in," not "out" to determine how much, how often and with whom you'll pursue health and fitness. Ask a professional if you are unsure about what is truly healthy for your body. Exercise on your own terms, in your own way and acknowledge when you're actually doing your best and when you're slacking.

3. Be Patient.
Recognize that your health, strength, endurance, body composition and flexibility will change over time. Do the best you can each day to be active, eat well, rest and connect with others. As long as you are patient with the process and not taking radical or unrealistic shortcuts, your body and mind will benefit. Health and energy are wonderful rewards in themselves. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "The greatest wealth is health."

4. Be Honest.
Have you noticed that your enthusiasm, interest or commitment to healthy, realistic and consistent exercise has faded? Get honest. Admit you've been slacking and determine what you can realistically do differently. Give up the excuses and find ways to be consistent and committed again to your healthy habits.

5. Be Grateful.
Making time to exercise is both a privilege and challenge. Different seasons of life, crisis, energy level changes, menopause, and job changes can interrupt the flow of your healthy routines. Instead of putting your head down, barreling through and berating yourself for not doing more, look up and be grateful for what you can do. Lighten up, be joyful and look for the humor and lighter side of life. Yes, looking great is wonderful. Being slim, toned, strong and filled with endurance is an outcome of consistent effort. So is being energetic, sleeping well and having time for friendships and relaxation. If you've given up some of these life-enhancing activities to pursue the perfect body, consider the path of excellence rather than perfection.

The path of excellence is the one that celebrates when you do the best you can each day, regardless of the external accolades, affirmations and expectations of others. You can use this philosophy and these BE-attitudes in every area of your life: Stop comparing yourself, be honest about your efforts and look up and lighten up.

The next time you hear yourself saying negative, self-denigrating or self-sabotaging things, stop and consider the truth of your circumstances. If you're not doing your honest best, do something. If you are doing your best, celebrate it and enjoy the contentment and relief that follows.

The last line of Marston's poem says, "Everyone has the opportunity to produce excellence in their own way, and it is an opportunity that anyone would do well to capitalize on." Capitalize on your health in every area of your life, focus on excellence, not perfection and you will benefit from your "best" efforts.

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 Other news you can use

Anytime I read the words, "small choices or small steps" my attention perks up. So, when I read this most recent recap in a professional journal, I thought to share it with you.

Modest exercise staves off weight gain*
Deconditioned people who feel overwhelmed by the idea of starting an exercise and diet program can be confident that small steps do matter. A study finds that overweight, sedentary adults who are not dieting can stop future weight gain by participating in moderate exercise. The study, published in the January issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, included 120 overweight men and women between the ages of 40 and 65. The subjects, who were instructed not to diet during the 8-month program were assigned to one of three exercise groups: high amount/vigorous intensity, low amount/vigorous intensity and low amount/moderate intensity.

Although the high-amount group lost the most weight and fat, the two low-amount groups also lost some of each. Without changes in diet, a higher amount of activity is necessary for weight maintenance; however, weight gain can be cut off at the pass with modest amounts of exercise. Most individuals can accomplish this by walking 30 minutes every day, the study recommends.
* Source IDEA Fitness Journal June 2004

Wellness Vision Plan

I'm curious as to whether you created your Wellness Vision (January's ezine edition). If you did, how helpful has it been? We're half way through the year, if you're not at least half way to your goals for this year, it may be time to go back online and download the article and tool for creating your Wellness Vision. I challenge you to see the difference focused effort can make.

Kate's Contributions to the publishing world

During the past few months, I've had the privilege of writing for or contributing to the following articles;

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kate Larsen, PCC, of Winning LifeStyles, Inc., works with people who want to simplify their lives and take charge of their health. Kate works with organizations that want their people to do more with less stress and be at their best. Kate works one-on-one with individuals and conducts presentations and workshops throughout the US, Canada and Mexico.

Winning LifeStyles, Inc. has a lineup of training and educational materials designed to help individuals look better and feel better. Programs are designed to help busy professionals, entrepreneurs and motivated individuals create and maintain the lifestyle/workstyle that fuels their passion and purpose in life. Kate creates a win/win relationship with her clients. The bonus is her ability to speak and train before large or small groups. She has been an active member of the National Speakers Association since 1989. She is a certified personal trainer and an experienced group exercise instructor for over 19 years. She also walks her talk; literally, conducting walking clinics nationally.

Clients turn to Kate for information, guidance, motivation, skill-building tools and relationship improvement. Her focus is to help clients live congruently with their values, to be their best, to make choices that enhance their relationships and health, to create a "do-able" lifestyle plan that is designed for continued success. Kate is a successful entrepreneur, consultant, international speaker, addictions counselor, author, fitness instructor, wife and mother.

Touching the world at large

"One of my greatest goals is to make a positive difference in the lives of people everywhere and anywhere I have the privilege of being invited-TV, radio, the Internet, newspapers and magazines allow me to do that in a way I could never imagine. How fun is that!"

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Kate Larsen, PCC
Tel: 952-943-1430
Fax: 952-941-3521
E-mail: Kate@katelarsen.com

==============COPYRIGHT AND REPRINTS==================

Reprint permission is granted when the following credit appears: "© Kate Larsen, PCC, 2004. Reprinted with permission from 'Kate Larsen's Maximum Performance Resource, 2004' a monthly internet newsletter. For your own personal subscription, go to www.katelarsen.com"

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