How to overcome barriers to better health
The truth is, perfection definitely isn’t required.
Depending on how you look at this, this could be a relief to hear, or a disappointment.
On the one hand, it’s nice to know that you don’t have to have it “all together” to be healthy—even above-average healthy.
On the other hand, many of us pursue better health with the belief that our optimal or even “perfect” self will one day, with the right plan or routine, be attainable.
But “perfect” health is an illusion.
Humans, even exceptionally healthy ones, get sick, get weird rashes, have digestive problems, need reading glasses, get into slumps, or just otherwise have a series of bad days.
None of us are “safe” from those life events, and accepting that can feel a little… vulnerable.
It’s much more comfortable to believe that if you just take this powdered algae supplement, or follow this specific morning routine, you’ll be immune to any kind of painful human experience.
The irony is, to achieve your realistic “best self,” you probably have to accommodate your “worst self” too. You know, the one who’d rather watch another episode of Love is Blind than work out, or eat a party-size bag of Doritos and call it dinner.
Because life happens.
Work gets busy.
Or your kid goes through a “phase.”
Or it’s pie season.
Any number of obstacles, distractions, and competing demands make it impossible for perfection to be maintained with any kind of consistency.
Which is why we need to let go of the illusion that a “perfect” self exists—the one who always has the energy, will, and option to make the ideal choice—and support what our real self wants and needs.
