The perfectionist in us – the voice that tells us that if we take all the steps and do everything “right,” our life’s problems will disappear and everyone will love us and we’ll be the best at everything – wants one path to body acceptance, free of errors and mistakes.

This is what the perfectionist in us loved about the promise of diets – we would follow a meal plan, expect to see changes and then gain the praise of everyone around us. The perfectionist in us ate that up faster than a slice of cheesecake on a cheat day.

Perfectionism does not have a place in body acceptance.

Striving to get “everything right” and expecting a linear amount of progress while you’re learning to accept your body is NOT going to happen. It will only set you up for feeling like you’re doing something wrong and goes against the principles of acceptance.

Body and self acceptance requires a fundamental shift in the way you treat yourself.

There is no place for…
…high expectations that you’re unable to meet.
…every day being better than the previous.
…feeling like you’re a failure if you have a bad body day.
…feeling like a fraud because you talk about body acceptance, but don’t totally believe it for yourself.

To reject perfectionism we need to embrace acceptance.

Having body acceptance isn’t just about accepting your physical body – it’s about cultivating an attitude of acceptance about everything.

Acceptance of mistakes, bad body days, difficult emotions, the fact that you can’t control how other people react to you and the messiness of not “getting it right.”

When you feel yourself struggling, ask yourself, “What if I chose to accept this?”

Acceptance is the path to mastering imperfection.