I'm sure each one of you noticed that I didn't have a blog post last week.
Riiight! I am not so naive to believe that!
Anyway, I wasn't feeling great early in the week and then had several meetings the last part of the week, so I couldn't pull it together by Friday morning, my usual send off time.
I will admit I am a procrastinator. I'm usually flying by the seat of my pants trying to get things done at the last minute. In the past I've delayed and sent my Friday email on Saturday. But, this time, nope. Not even that.
Now, I wish people were hounding me for that missed blog post and Friday email. Inboxes get pretty inundated, so even those faithful readers maayybe had a fleeting thought about missing it. I'm not holding my breath.
At first, I was feeling a bit guilty. I should have tried harder and gotten it done ahead of time. Well.... that's probably true. I should have a back-up plan in place for those times when life throws curve balls at you. Let's just say, it's on my to-do list.
Then, I decided I shouldn't feel bad. I haven't missed any weeks prior and I won't miss any weeks after. It's a one-time deal. I just had this overwhelming sense that I needed to give myself some grace. So, I listened.... for once! LOL
Boy, was that freeing!
What a gift it is to give yourself some grace! We can't expect perfection. Not from us or from anyone else. But, we can always give grace freely to those who may be undeserving... like I did for myself.
We are usually our hardest critic. We make one mistake, like eating a piece of cake at a birthday party or having some cream in our coffee when we're eliminating dairy for the 5-day January Jumpstart. We get so disgusted with ourselves. I've done it. I know exactly what it feels like.
I did this ONE thing ONE time that I didn't want to do, so I'm going to punish myself for a lifetime. Doesn't' it sound silly when I put it like that?!? We do it, though, and don't give it a second though.
It was one piece of cake.
It was 2 tablespoons (okay, maybe 3) of cream.
Did you eat cake everyday? Did you eat 5 pieces of cake? How about the cream? Did it ruin the whole 5 days? Did you still feel more energy and eat better overall?
I have found that when we allow for missteps without being overly critical, that we have more peace with the same results in the end (or so close that we wouldn't notice the difference, anyway). It's not worth beating ourselves up over. It's really not.
I liked this quote in What is Grace? from Christianity,com: "Grace is the opposite of karma, which is about getting what you deserve. Grace is getting what you don’t deserve and not getting what you do deserve."
Isn't that what God did, and still does, for us?
He sent Jesus, the perfect Lamb, to die for our sins. Jesus didn't deserve death, and while we were still sinners we didn't deserve to be cleansed from our sin. God loves us that much. He wants relationship with us that much. And he offered more grace than we deserved when he didn't have to.
We are told to love our neighbors as ourselves. It's time we start treating ourselves like we would a friend. I would never be mad at a friend for having a piece of cake at a birthday party... even if she pinky promised me she wasn't going to. I'd realize that she's disappointed in herself and offer some love and support. I'd tell her about how good she's been doing in other areas. Then, tell her next time she needs to text me when she's feeling weak so I can give her some of my strength. That's what friends do.
We can do that for ourselves, too, you know. We can love, take care of, and give ourselves encouragement without being conceited. True self-love includes a certain amount of humility so we don't start thinking we're better than others or more deserving.
So, give yourself some grace when you fall short. I think it will bring you the same peace and freedom I received. Truly, a welcome, yet undeserved, gift.
Speaking of friends, health coaches are like friends on steroids - not actually taking steroids, but like extra special, loving and encouraging friends. I'd love to help you learn how to give yourself some grace if you're struggling with the concept. I have an application so that I can learn some about you before we have our first, free of charge, no commitment required, session together. You can access that here.
In Courage, my friends!
Dani
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