I recently got a membership to a rock climbing gym near me. It's something I've been wanting to get back into more frequently for a while, especially considering that my work is rather sedentary, and I think I could use more upper body exercise, which I don't really get from the biking and walking I do a lot.
It's a super cool spot, very close to home, and I'm excited to get involved with it! Something I've had to wrestle with, though, is how much I commit to myself regarding how much I will go, and how I manage myself when those expectations don't get met.
For me, like many people, it's easy to set certain expectations of myself, and then become very rigid with myself about them, telling myself that since I have this membership, I must make the most of it by going regularly, and by spending a fair amount of time each time I go.
Of course, life happens, and things don't always work out the way I expect. Despite living so close to the gym, I get busy, and sometimes I don't quite have the time to make it to the gym when I want, or to spend as much time there as I would like. How, I respond in those moments, then, is interesting.
As someone who can naturally be very much a perfectionist, my default state in these moments is to try to control everything, figuring out how I can manipulate my schedule to get everything that I want. Eventually, though, things fall through the cracks, and then I give up on them, and maybe skip a day. That can be kind of defeating, although sometimes simply saying "no, I can't do this today" is the best answer.
Regardless, though, in those moments where I find myself frustrated that my plans are falling through, where I can't get as much done as I'd like, I've found the idea that something is better than nothing to be helpful:
- If I lost track of time, so now I only have 40 minutes between things instead of two hours, I can go to the gym for 15 minutes instead of 30-40. It's not much, but it's better than nothing!
- If I didn't get as much done at work as I wanted, the work I was still able to get done is valuable, and worthwhile, and God will use it just the same.
- If I really messed up my day so much that I don't even have time to eat lunch, I can still trust that God is providing for my physically until I can eat again.
- Related: If I only have time to eat a little meal, while I should definitely try to eat more, it's better than eating nothing!
As a Christian, I think the underlying truth for me here is that God will use whatever you do, however small and imperfect it may seem. So, even if I set out to do something that I know is good, if I only do a little bit or miss it altogether, I know that God will still use it and work through it (and me) just the same.