Monday, September 14, 2009

A new week

This was a perfect message for today. Did I walk on the treadmill or outside today? No. Did I lift weights? No. My workout was scrubbing my kitchen. Last night my son dropped a can of Big Red on the kitchen floor and it exploded. He wiped a few things down and mopped the kitchen floor three times. But when I got up today, I kept finding it EVERYWHERE! Oy! I didn't think one aluminum can could contain so much red to splatter so far! It extended into my office and the more I cleaned, the more I found. I realized the Swiffer WetJet wasn't going to cut it, so I actually got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed the floor......and the fridge......and the stove. And under the stove, where I found a few things the cats had batted under there including one of my nice makeup brushes.

So moral of the story is, I'm not aiming for perfection. I'm thrilled that my kitchen floor is cleaner than it has been for a long time. But I truly hate linoleum! ;-)

From Denise Austin:
Aim Not for Perfection but to Please Yourself
Like me, I'm sure you always try your hardest to stay on top of things, but sometimes you get derailed. An unexpected phone call makes you run 15 minutes late. One of your children stays home from school with a cold, and you need to stay home, too. Or you have lunch with a friend and taste a few bites of her chocolate mousse. Then what happens? You get angry with yourself.

You aim for perfection and then get upset when you miss the mark. And that's negativity you just don't need! We all make mistakes (it's human!), but you can't let those slipups get the best of you. Don't get discouraged if you fall off your diet or miss a workout — and certainly don't throw in the towel! Plan to do better tomorrow: Do an extra 15 minutes of cardio and a few extra reps of each exercise in your strength-training workout, or walk a little bit further.

Remember: One failure doesn't have to stop your progress or take away from all you've achieved until then. Put in a little extra work later, and relax and enjoy your day.

8 comments:

Georgia Mist said...

Amen to that!

Charmae said...

yuck, sounds like you had one nasty mess to clean up and one tough "work out".

Diane, Fit to the Finish said...

Such a great post. I agree 100% Perfection is much overrated!

Sorry about the big mess. One time we dropped salad dressing, and I think I cleaned for days trying to get it all off the counters, etc.

F. McButter Pants said...

Loved the quote. Reading about you cleaning your kitchen makes me want to clean mine!

Have a great day.

Hanlie said...

This is such a valuable lesson! I've been a perfectionist all my life, and it was only when I realized that "good enough" was good enough that I could start changing.

Chibi Jeebs said...

I really like that message -- thank you for sharing! As far as housework goes, my theory is that if it takes longer than 20 minutes and leaves me sweaty, it counts as a workout. ;)

Diana said...

My hubby did that on the living room carpet. It got in our dvd case (a book of dvds) among other places. I feel your pain more than I wish!
Perfection is over rated. I don't want to see under our fridge or any other such area! Ick.

Bella said...

Definitely a great message to remember. Thanks for sharing it.