Most of us would do just fine getting a seven and a half, an eight at most, out of ten. No, that doesn’t put us on top of the class. And no, we probably won’t win competitions where we’re judged by our performance or how we look in our underwear. But do we really care? Because seven and a half gets us where we want to go.
Seven and a half gets us the strength to enjoy the activities we love, the health for longevity, and the body that we can feel confident in. And long term we’ll do better than trying to be a straight-a student.
Most of us don’t have the time, energy, and let’s be honest, the enthusiasm to get the perfect marks in health and fitness. Not 52 weeks a year. Accepting only 10 or nothing will remove the flexibility we need from a sustainable approach to health and fitness.
Because despite our best efforts, life will kick in. And when we cannot get a ten, it eats into our motivation. It can make us feel like a failure when we can’t give health and fitness our full effort. Leading us to a cyclical all-or-nothing approach.
But once we aim for a seven and a half, we’ll give ourselves the permission to not be perfect. We accept that good enough is, well, good enough.