Hey Everyone, Derek here.
Before reading, please take a minute to check out our About Us and Blog Disclaimers pages to get some context of who we are and what you need to keep in mind while reading our posts.
Unfortunately this week I don't have a whole lot to post. I started a post on how to critically analyze research studies, but quickly realized that to do the post justice I will have to put some serious time into organizing it. There is simply a LOT of components to cover.
We were away all weekend (where I slept terribly) and we had a couple of client consultations that took up most of our free time on the two days we did have free this week.
I've also had a lot of things on my mind and had a very hard time staying focused on much of anything as a result. Today I felt so terrible (a combination of getting sick and poor sleep quality) that I left work and came home early to sleep.
As soon as this post is up I'll be going back to sleep.
As a result, this week I won't be posting anything original or of significant substance.
At first I felt bad about this, like I was letting myself, our business and anyone who reads our blog down. Then I remembered this post by Tim Ferriss. It's titled The Art of Letting Bad Things Happen.
In it, Tim reminds his readers that sometimes it's ok to let little bad things happen. You don't always have to be perfect. Sometimes you just have to let the little things go wrong so that you can take care of the big things. As long as those big things are taken care of, who cares if you screw up a little thing?
In our case, making sure we deliver an awesome experience and good information to our clients is the #1 priority for our business. That is the one thing that truly matters for our success. If we deliver that, nothing else really matters.
On a personal level, taking care of ourselves so that we can be at our best for each other and for our clients is a major key to success in our business and our marriage.
With fat loss, maybe your 'little bad thing' is having a Diet Coke or Zevia and a Quest Bar or some other processed food that's less than ideal health wise. Is it as good for you as vegetables, grass-fed meat and water? No. Of course not. But it's also not the worst thing ever. It won't get in the way of you getting to your goal. It's a lot better than a chocolate bar and Coke.
Here's the key:
Do not let perfect be the enemy of good enough.
Sometimes good enough is simply good enough. You don't always have to be perfect.
If you've taken care of the big things, don't worry about the rest.
Next week I should be back with the 'how to critically analyze a research article' blog post, but I'm not going to stress about missing out on this week.
In the meantime, check out this post by Jonathan Serfaty on builtlean.com.
I'll be referencing it in my post next week - It's an excellent discussion of which research studies to give weight to and which studies to mostly ignore. There are a few more things I'd like to add to what he's written, but it's definitely a good start.
For a more thorough discussion this post (and free ebook!) by Jonathan Fasth on the ptdc.com is also excellent and extremely in depth!
In my post next week I'll be trying to hit a middle ground between the depth of the ptdc.com post and the builtlean.com post.
If you'd like further reading on letting little bad things happen and some more awesome Tim Ferriss concepts, check out To Get Big Things Done, Let Small Bad Things Happen by Alexis Grant and The Not To Do List by Tim Ferriss.
Lastly of course, check out our blog for any posts you might have missed up until now!
Whatever it is that you are working towards in your life, whether it's fat loss or anything else, just remember to take it easy. Take care of the big things that get you to your goal and let the little bad things happen. It's ok.
I hope everyone has an awesome week and remember, don't stress about the little things!
- Derek