Do you ever wonder why so many attempts at changing the way we eat fail? After last weekend, I realized that for me, it’s because I’ve often used the wrong definition of success.
In last week’s blog (read here) I shared about wanting to get to Sunday night and say, “we did so well, no regrets!” But alas, we both ate/drank things on the list to avoid – things we’ve given up. For Don it was soda; for me it was cheese. I couldn’t resist. The cheese was there, it looked SO good I just had to have some. And I was right, it was very good – I enjoyed every bite!
Now on one hand, we could focus on those things and measure the success of the weekend by our few failures. Or, we could focus on the positive and realize that for the most part we stayed on course:
- We had salads for dinner Saturday when we ate out
- We didn’t have dessert or any sweets
- Most of the snacks we ate were things we brought, veggies, and fruit
- We didn’t drink any coffee, something we both quit
- We didn’t overeat; didn’t get on a roll, so to speak.
Success is not perfection. Perfection is not required for success. Success is doing the best you can and not giving up when you make one mistake. Success is also not being so obsessed with any one thing (eating right, in this case) that you miss the main point of a weekend away: to enjoy precious time with dear friends. And that we did!
So yes, I can honestly say that Sunday night we had no regrets. We didn’t hit perfection, but we never gave up trying to make good choices. And that, my friends, was a successful way to stay on course!
Let us not become weary in doing good,
for at the proper time we will reap a harvest
if we do not give up.
(Galations 6:9, NIV)
How do you measure success when trying to eat right on vacation? Do you give up with the first wrong choice, or stay the course and keep doing the best you can?
