Summer of Change #8: There are no mistakes (don’t add guilt to injury)

Stop harping on yourself for your mistakes.

Yes, you are trying to lose weight. Yes, you ate that chocolate donut. Guess what? So? One donut does not mean you ‘fell off’ your diet. If you tell yourself you ‘fell off’, all you do is feel guilty, feel like you’ve failed, and once you feel like you’ve failed? You’ve as good as failed, haven’t you? Because the universe just gives us what we expect.

Yes, you are on a new exercise plan. You have every intention of running the half-marathon in six weeks and are training like mad. But this morning? You woke up and threw the alarm across the room and immediately went back to sleep. Again. SO WHAT! One time. One time you did it. That’s nothing. A blip on the radar screen. Instead of blaming yourself, wake up feeling refreshed and have a great day.

Why do I suggest this? Because in the large scheme of things, one thing truly does not matter. And the Law of Resistance says that what we continue to resist expands. What does that mean? If we blame ourselves for messing up once, that blame resists change. And the more we blame, the more resistance to change happens. Whereas if we eat the donut or don’t run the one morning and say “I needed that, and now on with my goal”, there is no blame, no guilt, and no resistance.

Whoosh! When we give no resistance, less things to cause that particular resistance will come up. Next thing you know? Your goal is achieved and you don’t remember the last time you put yourself down.

Now that’s something to celebrate. No more mistakes.