Progress not perfection

Yesterday as I was taking my progress pictures and tracking where I was at this point in my last prep, I celebrated that at 9 weeks out from my next show, I am, where I was 3 weeks out from my last show. I was so happy to see that with my additional muscle, my body is transforming quicker! Hard work pays! Then today, after a work-out cut short from a business call, and a waffle fry or 4 from my kids chick fil a kids meal later, I opened Instagram. As I scrolled through my feed one of my fitness icons had posted a few shots from their last professional fitness shoot. Self doubt and loathing washed over me. I felt insignificant, unworthy, and totally overwhelmed. After a half hour of toying around with the idea of finishing off those waffle fries, I decided to go back to where my compition journey began. I scrolled through the pictures of myself 2 years ago and It brought me right back to just how insecure I was feeling on a daily basis. I knew that at that point in my life that I could barely dream of the day that I had the body I do now. There are days that all of us feel so much self doubt, even those women whom we aspire to be like. The reality is, we are all works in progress. Some of us reach our goals quicker than others, but that plays no relevance in our journey. This is a lifestyle I will continue beyond competing. I plan on building muscle on muscle on muscle for years to come!! The beauty of this sport is that our bodies continue to get better with age! We gain more muscle, and that muscle matures, and our physiques look better and better. There is a lot to look forward to when you live this lifestyle day in and day out. Some days we need to take time to revisit where we started, to celebrate how far we've come, and to excitedly look forward to what the future holds.