Everyday we are either working toward our goals or moving farther away from them.

And while I don’t think we can always be focused on the future, and immediate gratification will at times “sabotage” our long-term goals and focus, I think recognizing that every day is building our future result…

That your situation today is a result of your past hustle…

Is super key.

Because so often we stress perfection when we start a new program. We get up in a 21 day or even 6 week SPRINT….only to burn ourselves out with the habits so we can’t keep moving forward.

Instead we need to focus on those small habit changes. The ways we can make 1% improvements.

The ways we can be BETTER THAN we would have been in the same situation before.

Because every day we are technically building and moving forward or taking that step back.

And step backs are GOING to happen.

But we have to recognize that, in life, there is no starting over.

So how fast we get results will also be impacted by those steps….in either direction.

That’s why that TODAY, right now, as you plan for tomorrow…as you choose between trying to be perfect and rely on willpower over making small changes to constantly learn and grow, you have to recognize that every day you are making the choice about which direction you will move in.

And if you fall down? If you slip up, while that one event may have moved you away from your goal, the power you give that situation can impact future days.

And those days again are either moving you forward or setting you back.

Results come from what we consistently do. From how we learn and move forward.

And again…There is NO STARTING OVER.

That’s why I wanted to share 3 tips I use to help myself find ways to always move forward even on those days that feel like you’ve taken that step back.

Tip #1: Learn.

Every situation is a learning experience. And as humans, we will not handle every new situation correctly.

Not to mention, emotions will get the better of us at times.

But everything that happens can be a positive learning experience even when the actual situation…well…sucks!

Everything in life is really impacted by our perspective, by our perception of events.

So even when you have a day you feel sets you back – you missed your workout, you ate off plan – you can either choose to let that impact future days negatively OR you can learn from it so tomorrow is better.

Failures can often be amazing learning experiences that teach us things that can rocket us forward.

But we have to choose to learn from them instead of beating ourselves up about them.

So every chance you can, reflect and learn.

Don’t just try to gloss over bad times, forget failures. Own them and learn from them!

Tip #2: Stop trying to be perfect.

We rely on motivation and willpower because we are trying to be perfect.

But guess what?

You’re human so you’re therefore FLAWED.

Perfection isn’t in our DNA.

Stop trying to do more. Stop trying to do things perfectly.

A. Perfect doesn’t exist.
B. There is no true definition of perfect.

What is perfect “clean” eating?

What is a “perfect” workout routine?

No one agrees.

And the more you try to pressure some arbitrary standard of perfect, the more you’ll actually hold yourself back from creating the perfect or BEST plan for you.

Focus on improvements.

Focus on changes based on meeting yourself where you are at.

Motivation and willpower are things we rely on to do more than we are truly often capable of…especially long term.

Results come from creating even minimums we can repeat at times we don’t want to do anything.

So focus on doing the minimum at times. It’s not sexy, but it’s what truly builds.

Tip #3: Meet yourself where you are at.

The perfect plan for you is created by meeting yourself where you are at RIGHT NOW.

And I mention the “RIGHT NOW,” because often we compare our current selves to our past selves or our ideal selves.

But none of that really matters if we want to move forward from our current spot.

You could beat yourself up about where you used to be or could be…you could create a plan based on what “used to work,” but none of that will actually move you forward.

We move forward by focusing on where we are at currently to then create an accurate road map to our end destination.

I mean think about if you’re driving to a location…you don’t start your route based on where you could be or where you used to live!?

NOPE!

You set the start of your route based on where you are now.

The best plans have to meet us where we are at.

So don’t even just do “less” if you’re coming back from injury.

Don’t even just jump into a macro ratio that worked in the past.

Assess where you are RIGHT NOW and adjust off of that!

SUMMARY:

Your future self is based off of what you do today, tomorrow, the next day…not to mention every day that has come before today.

We can’t go back and change the past, we can’t start over.

But we can see the opportunity in each day being a chance to move forward.

One small thing, a 1% improvement daily, weekly, monthly, yearly will pay off.

So focus on how you can make those small tweaks, learn from each experience, to try to move forward!