How to Overcome Failure on the Journey to Wellness

Here we are, together again, best friends forever. I tried to escape, but it turns out we cannot live without each other. Other people don’t matter anymore, just me and my bestie, a bottle of wine.

Failure. I struggled to stop drinking for years, hiding my addiction from everyone. I prayed to God for help, but felt He wasn’t listening.

Failure can derail us temporarily or permanently from reaching our goals. Overcoming failure on the journey to wellness is crucial for success.

Find out how to overcome failure on the journey to wellness and keep moving, one step at a time.

Stop striving for perfection

Everyone fails. Abandon unrealistic expectations of perfection because no one is perfect except Jesus.

Avoid an all-or-nothing mentality. We must let mistakes go and move on because small changes over time bring big results.

Analysis by Precision Nutrition on the data from 1,000 of their clients showed some amazing results. Participants with 50-79% consistency in their healthy lifestyle changes still lost weight, changed their bodies, and improved their health. Imagine, just 50% consistency on our journey to wellness can produce positive changes. You don’t have to be anywhere close to perfect to be successful. ¹

Learn from your mistakes

Dr. Daniel Amen, one of the founding physicians of the Daniel Plan, said, “Turn bad days into good information.” ²

When you have a bad day, ask yourself, why did I fail?  

Consider the acronym used in recovery programs, HALT.

• Hungry—Low blood sugar leads to poor decisions.
• Angry—Deal with anger constructively, not with food or alcohol.
• Lonely—We may be tempted to eat for comfort when lonely. Pray first, then call a friend.
• Tired—Lack of sleep causes cravings and bad decisions. Focus on getting adequate sleep.

Keeping a journal may help to figure out why we fail. Record events of the day, and how you felt. Look for patterns on bad days. Was I exhausted? Did I have a stressful day at work? Did I forget to bring healthy snacks? What can I change to prevent failure next time?

Embrace grace

Stop beating ourselves up when we slip up and eat an entire box of Girl Scout cookies. (Thin Mints are my favorite!) God always loves us anyway, despite our failures. Satan wants us to concentrate on our failures by telling us we don’t deserve God’s love.

Instead of focusing on our shame and inadequacy, ask for forgiveness, and focus on glorifying God. He offers grace, so give yourself grace too! 😁

C. S. Lewis wrote:

You must ask for God’s help. Even when you have done so, it may seem to you for a long time that no help, or less help than you need, is being given. Never mind. After each failure, ask forgiveness, pick yourself up, and try again. Very often what God first helps us towards is not the virtue itself but just this power of always trying again. ³

C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

I spent many years trying to be perfect until I realized I can never be good enough on my own. Ask God for help, pick yourself up, and try again.

Conclusion

I finally broke up with wine thanks to God, Alcoholics Anonymous, Christian counseling, and the support and recovery group at church. If you need professional help, please reach out! I was reluctant to go to a counselor, but I am so glad I did. ✨ ✨ ✨

God offers mercy and grace every day. All you have to do is ask Him for help. He is waiting for you! I know you can overcome failure on the journey to wellness, because God can do the impossible. He transformed what I thought was impossible in my life, so He can do it for you.

Which of these three strategies will help you overcome failure on the journey to wellness? How can you implement this next time you fail?

Additional information and free gift 🎁

Accept my gift to you, scriptures to help us overcome failure on the journey to wellness. Click here to download Encouraging Scriptures for Daily Living.

Read more about how yoga helped me stay sober during the lonely evenings at home after stressful work days.

For more information on creating healthy habits, check out previous posts on habits.

References

1. “Nearly 1 Million Data Points Show What It Really Takes to Lose Fat, Get Healthy, and Change Your Body.” Precision Nutrition, February 9, 2022. Accessed February 16, 2022. https://www.precisionnutrition.com/body-transformation-research.
2. Amen, Daniel, and Dee Eastman. The Daniel Plan: Focus, Essential Four. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015, p 46.
3. Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity. Bles, 1952.

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