Even Dr. Oz eats junk food on a rare occasion.

 

Or, at least, I assume (hope!!) he does, in the same way that I hope Serena Williams skips a workout and flops on the couch once in a blue moon.  

 

In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I assume ALL human beings must sometimes be less-than-their-ideal self, even if it's just for a moment now and then.  

 

Ok, I admit it. I'm saying and thinking all of this with a sort of, "Can I get an AMEN?" vibe since I, too, have been a less-than-ideal version of myself this week, and I'm looking for some validation, or a knowing nod, or even something like a "Yep, been there, sister!"

Let's be clear: I really, truly, honestly believe wholeheartedly in all of the personal achievement principles I teach and that I've been sharing with you.  

 

Things like, "You are what you are and where you are because of what's gone into your mind.  You can change what you are, and change where you are, by changing what goes into your mind."  

 

And, "You cannot become what you need to be by remaining what you are."  

 

Or, "Discipline yourself to do the things you need to do when you need to do them, and the day will come when you will be able to do the things you want to do when you want to do them."  

 

Yep, thanks Mr. Zig Ziglar for all of that wisdom and so much more; it's like my brother says, I'm "drinking the Kool-Aid" of Ziglar Wisdom, and mmm, does it ever nourish me! 

 

Except.

 

I'm also human. And a work in progress.

 

It started Monday evening, when I was feeling tired and sluggish after a long day of trying to get my work done between running to appointments that had to be kept.  While I was waiting for dinner to heat up (notice I didn't say "cook" — I was way too tired for that!) I grabbed a gossip mag that was on the counter and got sucked into what can best be described as mind- candy. 

 

Even as I was turning the pages and reading all of the who-really-cares-what-the-celeb-is-doing picture captions, I KNEW that I wasn't feeding my mind anything quality, and that I really shouldn't be wasting my time.  But I kept it up, and I pretty much realized I was heading down a slippery slope.

 

After dinner, I decided I would watch a TV show I record to enjoy every now and then.  It could also be considered in the mind-candy category, but I figure once a week doesn't hurt anything; I count it as a mark in the "personal recreation" spoke of the wheel of life.  

 

The problem is, after that particular show ended, and I stopped the recording, the TV switched to live, and it was on HGTV.  

 

Now, if I didn't get a knowing nod from you for my earlier statement, I bet I am getting one now from anyone who's ever been helplessly sucked into an HGTV House Hunters marathon. It doesn't matter if it's regular House Hunters, Tiny House Hunters, House Hunters International, Lake House Hunters, Beach House Hunters... for whatever reason, it's all but impossible to drag oneself away from the television once you start a single episode, and the next thing you know, you've been there for 3 hours!  

 

(Don't even get me started on Property Brothers or Fixer Upper!)

 

The point is, I knew that I wasn't feeding my mind what I should be.  

 

I was just vegging out, consuming "junk food" for the mind, even though there was a great book on my nightstand that would have been such a better choice.

 

I 100% recognized this, and yet I stayed put in that recliner in front of the TV. 

 

That's when I started the justification scenarios that I opened this blog with, arguing with myself that even elites at the top of their game must have down days now and then.  And I felt better.

 

Because, friends, it's true.  

 

We can still be incredibly successful at whatever our endeavors might be even if we hiccup now and then.  

 

To continue the junk food analogy, most experts will say that if you eat the right foods 80 - 90% of the time, you're probably going to be within your healthy body weight zone.

 

So I'm going to go ahead and excuse myself for my momentary lapse of dedication and commitment to all things motivational and self-developmental and — with a knowing nod to Scarlett O'Hara — remind myself that, "Tomorrow is another day." 

 

Can I get an AMEN?!