Fail better! Any path to any place worth going to does not go in a straight line. The next time you cave into your cravings and indulge in diet or lifestyle behaviors that may not be in your best interest, use this not as a time to berate yourself but instead as an important learning opportunity. This is great; you can decide to objectively look at behaviors and consequential outcomes to gain valuable information. This is merely information that should not be judged. Self-compassion, although difficult to master holds the ultimate key for success. You know that an ice cream treat before bed for too many nights will produce undesirable results, and you have the wisdom and power to come up with an alternative action!

Why you really never fail. The only people who fail are those who give up. Sometimes we may change the goals that we have set for ourselves, but that doesn’t mean we fail; rather, it means we are learning more accurately about what we really want. In fact, sometimes, the goal gets further away because we may set even higher expectations for ourselves. The path to success in any venture is not a straight line: there are always obstacles, setbacks and disappointments. This is where focusing on the journey and what you have achieved so far is critical to delivering you to your destination!

Today is always day one and a new opportunity to start again. Yesterday is truly history—good, bad, or otherwise, and tomorrow is a problem for another time. Focusing only on one day and what you want to accomplish is manageable. It is only when we spend too much energy recalling last night’s dinner party, when we had one too many appetizers, or are concerned about fitting into an outfit for an upcoming black tie event, that we can become overwhelmed. Today is fantastic; if you really think about it, you can do anything for just one day and maybe that one day could lead to another day!

Here are my top strategies for turning failures into weapons of success!

1) Rewrite in detail the scenario of how you would like it to go by devising a new plan?

Ie.: the next time you go out to dinner with friends, you eat a handful of olives before you get there, move bread out of reach and consider portions before beginning to eat.

2) Realize how stress affects your eating behaviors and replace comfort food with something that makes you feel better in the long term versus temporarily.

Ie: feeling stressed, try diaphragmatic breathing which can lower stress in the moment.

3) Redefine your indulgence from sabotaging your diet to spiking your metabolism and setting you up for success!

Ie: having a large buffet brunch on Sunday and follow it up by resuming your normal portions and choices on Monday.

Final takeaway: use “failures” as learning and growing opportunities that will get you closer every day to reaching your goals!

If you want to know how a personalized plan could be the missing link in achieving your goals, please call now 941-685-8074 or click here to schedule a free 15 minute discovery call.