By David Tepera, July 15, 2020

Being in the professional body building industry, every competitor is focused on perfection. You must bring you best A-game to have an opportunity to take first place or to win your pro-card.

Of course, this is totally understandable to all my fellow competitors. It was the same dedication Tina and I went through to become professional athletes.

But when it comes to diet, exercise or getting ahead in life, don’t focus on perfection; concentrate on progress. This is the advice we give all our clients and those who reach out to us across the country.

There will be days of failure and setbacks, but that doesn’t mean to give up. They are just lessons to help pivot in a better direction.

We have a client totally hooked on frappuccinos, including drinking one every day for years. Like all of us trying to diet, she kept losing the battle. Tina helped her by not letting her get depressed and reducing her to one every other day. Well recently, she completed one month without any frappuccinos.

What did this do for our client? She now has the confidence to tackle the next hurdle of diets and exercise. She’s making progress and not setting herself up for failure by focusing on perfection.

Isn’t this process the same throughout our lives? Think of every sport, hobby or interest you’ve been involved with. With each attempt and accomplishment, you gain the confidence to continue and pursue a higher skill. You weren’t focused on perfection, just progress.

An example is as simple as learning to ride a bicycle. We had to learn to steer and peddle with training wheels, then to balance on two wheels. For us boys in the neighborhood, we rode with no hands, wheelies down the street, plus built ramps like Evel Knievel. Yep, I lived with scabs my entire youth, but I could fly on that old Schwinn with a banana seat.

How many of you are intimidated to walk into a gym or fitness center? We have people contact us every week who have never been in a gym. They feel like an outcast because all the marketing and social media are geared toward the younger fit crowd.

We let them know they just completed the largest hurdle by contacting us. From here, walking through our front door will start your progress to obtain goals.

Look, whatever you’re involved in to improve your life, don’t focus on perfection; concentrate on progress and you’ll get there.