Practically (IM)Perfect in Every Way

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.  Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world.  You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're doing something. -- Neil Gaiman

Accept what people offer.  Drink their milkshakes.  Take their love. -- Wally Lamb

January.  The magic month of good intentions.  "I'm going to follow my training plan to a tee.  And eat clean every single day.  And not drink ever.  And be practically perfect in every way."  At least that's what most New Years' resolutions sound like in my head.

I'll admit, I have quite a big problem with all-or-nothing thinking.  If I can't do it perfectly, then why do it at all?  I know, logically, that isn't the right approach...but it's just the way I'm wired.  This all-or-nothing thing also makes me super-excited to do everything right at the beginning of the year, or the beginning of the month, or the beginning of the week.  Because then I can do it ALL right.  You understand this, don't you?  I know I'm not the only person who works this way.

So every January, I decide to change from the horrible eating and drinking habits I engaged in over the holidays.  Or for the month of December.  Or since Thanksgiving.  (Or heck, since "race season" ended in October...or maybe since last January 15...)  I'm going to eat clean.  And follow my training plan.  And not drink.  And be perfect.

And then it's January 4, which is a super special day in our house, because my favorite youth triathlete has a birthday.  This year she's 12.  And she's pretty awesome.

And she wants cake.  And ice cream.  Because she's 12 and it's her birthday.  I want nothing more than to celebrate with her and her awesome self.  So tonight I will have cake.  And ice cream.  Because I love her.

Then the Christmas stuff will come down and I'll get ready to start a new semester of teaching...and I'll want wine.  Because I'm old and I want nothing more than to celebrate the change of seasons in my life.  So I will have wine.  Because I love my life.

Pretty soon, it will be mid-January...and IronSherpa will have a birthday.  I won't tell you how old he is.  (I will tell you I'm jealous of both him and my daughter...they turn their USAT age before any races, so they don't have that weird mental thing of trying to remember how old they really are.)  Anyway, on his birthday, we will have cake.  And ice cream.  Because he's old and it's his birthday.  And he will want some wine.  So I will have cake and ice cream and wine.  Because I love him.

And then January will end, and I will think - crap, what happened to my resolutions...to train perfectly, to eat perfectly clean, to drink nothing fun?  

Rather than make crazy resolutions that I know I can't keep, I think it's a better resolution to lose my all-or-nothing thinking.  I will not train perfectly.  I will not eat perfectly.  I like wine too much to not drink it.  

But I can be practically imperfect in every way.  I will eat clean as much as practical...but cake and ice cream is more important.  I will not drink as much as I did during the holidays...but celebrating little events of every day life matters.  I will train as practically perfect as I can...but I know that if a day goes south and things go off the rails...there will be another workout for me tomorrow.  Because life and love matter.  And no one is perfect.