Practice makes Perfect (well...maybe not perfect)

I just started reading "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. The book is a fun journey through the process of what makes some of us great and others...well...maybe just "not as accomplished".

The premise of the book takes a look at "natural talent" and investigates how much that contributes to success (and whether or not there are other factors at play here that can be understood and tapped into by those of us who haven't ever been labeled "gifted" in some particular direction.

The good news is, what brilliant people have in common is situations that made it possible for them to practice their craft (whether hockey players, musicians, computer geniuses) the 10,000 hours it takes to achieve mastery of the task.

Think about that -- the only thing that stands between me and mastery of ski jumping (other than 2 uninjured knees and a dreadful fear of heights) is 10,000 hours of intense practice!!

Based on this, my thinking has bent to those people (usually wives) who are in my office talking about how this person in their lives (usually the husband but sometimes a friend) seems to eat and never worry about what he/she is eating. Never getting stressed about food choices or weight or any of the other issues that so often torque clients out of shape.

What if that seemingly "natrually-gifted" eater just has gotten enough time (due to how they were raised or some other situation in their life) to PRACTICE the SKILL of mindful eating (noting how physically hungry they are and eating accordingly/understanding that there will be other opportunities to eat this particular food so there is no reason to over eat right now/ etc.)???

What if they aren't just born that way but have worked on it long enough that it is just the most natural feeling way to be??

That would mean there is hope for all the other "non-naturally-gifted" eaters of the world!!

They just need to put in their time practicing. And much like you wouldn't expect to downhill ski a Black Diamond on your first (or 100th) time, you don't need to beat yourself up when your mindful eating practice goes awry. You can just pick yourself up, dust the crumbs off your pants, and get back to practicing. No guilt. No shame. And understanding that you are working on mastery of the eating practice.

But you need to practice. Fortunately, you can start today! Do something Friday!