Happy FRI-YAY, Fab Friends over 40!
Can we just talk for a minute about the fact that progress is not linear?
Sometimes we take a step back. Sometimes we fall off the wagon and go back to old habits and patterns. We can be doing well, feeling good about the direction we are heading, and then have a week that looks nothing like the one we planned.
That was me this week.
My 25th wedding anniversary and a week-long pity party
This week was my 25th wedding anniversary. 🍾🥂 Twenty-five years! But my hubby was away for work, so he was not home to celebrate.
And I had myself a big old, week-long PITY PARTY.
Add the stress of a new job, taking care of the household, and my daughter away at college, and, well...
Pizza. Wine. Chocolate. Wine. lol 🍷🍕
All the things. 😩🤦🏻♀️
If you have read about my experience starting a new job after 40 or letting go as a first-time college mom, you know there has been a lot of change in this chapter. This week, it all felt like a lot at once.
When the weigh-in does not go the way you hoped
This morning, my WeightWatchers weigh-in was not pretty.
The thing is, I did not even have to weigh myself to know the scale was up. I could feel it.
That was disappointing. I am not going to pretend it was not. When you have been working toward something, it is hard to feel like you have taken a few steps backward.
But I also get to decide how I talk to myself about it. I can turn one hard week into a whole story about everything I am doing wrong. Or I can acknowledge the week I actually had and give myself a little grace.
I am choosing grace.
Progress is not linear, even after 40
Vacations. Events. Pity parties. lol.
Life does not stop happening just because we have a goal. We still have work, family, responsibilities, and feelings about all of it. Sometimes our routines hold up. Sometimes they do not.
For me, this week was about old habits showing up when I felt stressed and disappointed. For you, it might be something else entirely. Maybe you have put off a personal goal, slipped out of a routine, or lost a little confidence after feeling like you were finally moving forward.
A step backward does not have to become the point where we give up on ourselves. We can notice it, be honest about it, and still believe we can get back on track.
It is OK to have one bad week. It is OK to not be perfect.
Giving myself grace and making room to begin again
Rather than beat myself up, I am going to enjoy my weekend and start fresh on Monday. That is the plan I am making for myself.
It does not have to be your plan. Your fresh start can be today, tomorrow, or the next small choice that feels right for you. You do not have to follow my calendar to give yourself permission to begin again.
I want to get back to the habits I care about without making this week a reason to be unkind to myself. I can want to make progress and still be a woman who had a hard week. Both things can be true.
If you need a little space to think about what matters to you now, my free Find Your Purpose Workbook offers a place to start reflecting. You do not need to have your whole next chapter figured out.
Here is to progress over perfection
So, Fab Friends, if you are reading this and you have taken a step back in whatever progress you have made, give yourself some grace.
You CAN get back on track. You can care about your goals without expecting yourself to be perfect every week. And you can have a disappointing Friday morning without writing off everything that came before it.
Here is to progress over perfection. And to remembering that we deserve a little kindness from ourselves, too.
How was your week? If this feels familiar, you can send me a note. I would love to hear from you.
