You may have heard this mantra before, especially in the health and fitness industry. Good, better, best is the idea that in just about every decision you make, there is a good option, a better option and a best option. Now when it comes to getting healthy, this is a very realistic method to use to make small changes every day that positively impact you more and more in the long run. When it comes down to it, it’s all about your mindset.

Now let’s talk Mindset…

Whether or not you know it, mindset is vitally important to absolutely everything you do! It shapes who you are, and how you interact with the world around you. It essentially controls every aspect of your life and you may not even know it. But mindset is about more than your mood, or your attitude, or how you handle yourself in a given situation.

Mindset is how you choose to see the world.

Did you get that? It’s a CHOICE! That means you can make a conscious decision to change your mindset every day. You can “set” your “mind”  to do or believe just about anything you want. And that’s the power of mindset. No matter what you want to accomplish, become, or change, you can do it! You have the control!

Now when it comes to getting healthy, you have to make the decision to start. You have to get yourself up off the couch and commit! But that doesn’t mean you have to be perfect. You are human and you will make mistakes…and THAT”S OK! But both in the long run, and in small, everyday decisions, you have to change your mindset to decide between the good, better and best choices you are given.

For example, you want to workout today. You can either do a quick 15 minute stretching workout, take a long walk, or spend an hour at the gym with a mix of heart-pumping cardio and strength training. These are your good, better, and best options and you have to weigh them accordingly. However, add in your life and the other things you have to deal with every day. This includes your family obligations, making dinner, driving kids to soccer practice, going to the grocery store, taking the dog to the groomers, and the list goes on. You have to prioritize your good, better, and best options against your reality.

Suddenly, your 15 minute stretching workout just became your best option because it’s the best of both worlds when you get your workout in and spend time watching your kid’s soccer game. No you didn’t get the best workout in that you could’ve, but you prioritized your options based on your reality and you were effective in accomplishing two great things with your time. No you didn’t make the “best” decision according to some in accomplishing your workout, but you still made a good decision that is going to get you one step closer to your goals.

Good, Better, Best also applies to Diet.

This is important to remember especially when you are new to healthy eating and are not too keen on the “all or nothing” mentality of always being the best or making the best decision. If you have to choose what you will eat for lunch and your choices for sides at Panera are baked potato chips, whole grain bread or an apple, you have to choose between your good, better and best. No the baked potato chips are not the best option, compared to an apple, but if eating those potato chips is going to give you a sense of satisfaction that is going to keep you from derailing your diet later on because you feel like you’ve gotten a treat, then have the potato chips! At your next meal, choose your best option and balance out your day. It will make you much more successful in the long run.

The more you focus on weighing your options and walking yourself through the process of deciding what is good, what would be better and what is the best option, you can start to slowly start choosing more “best” options and train yourself over time. This helps you build more of a mindset and a knowledge of healthy living, instead of making yourself feel like you have to follow a strict set of rules you would likely abandon eventually anyway. It’s the freedom of choice that will make you successful and keep you in control.

This is my mindset and this is how I believe I’ve stuck with maintaining a healthy lifestyle for so long. I don’t get down on myself for choosing something I really wanted to have or to do and I balance my life between the things I want to accomplish and my reality. But it’s the everyday choices that make that possible and making one more better or best decision a day is going to get you there eventually, I promise. Don’t give up and keep moving forward. It will be worth it!

To read more about my story, click here!