Let’s talk about that four-letter word that so many of us have an unhealthy relationship with: FAIL.
For too long, we’ve bought into a flawed, all-or-nothing definition that sets us up for frustration and self-doubt.
The conventional wisdom says failure is not sticking to your diet or workout plan 100% of the time. It’s that moment you “fell off the wagon” and felt like you’d blown it. But I’m here to reframe how we think about setbacks on our health journeys.
True failure isn’t having an off-day, week or even month where you struggled with consistency. That’s just being human. Failure is never really trying in the first place. It’s throwing in the towel completely at the first roadblock instead of adjusting course.
When you embark on a lifestyle change, there will inevitably be times you don’t follow through perfectly. That doesn’t make you a failure – it makes you normal. The key is developing the resilience to overcome those inevitable lapses and get back on track, without berating yourself.
Rather than beating yourself up, view each “failure” as a data point. What triggered you to stray from your plan? How can you anticipate and plan for that next time? Small stumbles provide valuable lessons to refine your approach.
So let’s ditch the toxic, all-or-nothing mindset around failure. The true measure of success isn’t perfection, but having the grit to keep showing up, making adjustments and striving to be 1% better each day. That’s how real, sustainable progress happens.