Today my muscles are sore from a workout earlier this week and my plan for the day is to just squeeze in movement and activity where I can. I’m working from a standing desk and will take JuJu on an extra long walk in the nice cool weather.
Will I hit the gym again? Unlikely. Will what I do today be enough? Yes. I’m fully and totally buying into the what you can when you can movement today.
What’s this all about?
Carla and Roni, two awesome bloggers I’ve been following for years now, came up with this idea and it’s caught on among other people. It’s basically the idea that whatever you do regarding a healthy lifestyle is enough. It’s all about making the best choices you can when you can and not feeling guilty about being perfect 100% of the time.
They sum it up very well on the WYCWYC website:
- to do what you can when you can.
- to acknowledge that by doing the best you can when you can, it is enough.I missed my step class but that’s ok, I’ll talk a walk with the fam after dinner. #wycwyc
- seeking out every opportunity to help you reach your goals.Busiest day ever traveling for business. Too cold to walk. Jumped on the hotel dreadmill. #wycwyc
- balancing your wants with your goalsI really wanted fried mozzarella so I ordered a soup for my main entree, skipped dessert and drank sparkling water #wycwyc
- A vibrant online community who supports and encourages each other to live a balanced healthy life while achieving their goals.
Born from a longing to end perfectionist tendencies and the “start tomorrow” mindset, the #wycwyc movement reminds us doing what we can when we can is enough. There is no starting over, no magic day of the week, no throwing away the day.
By doing what we can when we can we can and will reach our goals.
Doing something is ALWAYS better than doing nothing and Incremental shifts add up to change over time.
This is so, so true! Starting over and over again and beating yourself up for not being perfect are two easy mental traps to fall into when you are working on living a healthier and better life. It’s easy to feel like you haven’t done enough, so you give up for the day or week, promising yourself to start over again next Monday. Do this enough times and you realize you’re far from where you want to be.
Progress comes from steady and consistent behaviors. That’s why the “what you can, when you can” idea is so powerful.
What You Can, When You Can Book
Carla and Roni started the movement and have a book about WYCWYC coming out soon.
So cool!
From the book description:
Carla Birnberg and Roni Noone have the answer to that—the answer is you. You have the power to make healthier living easy and exciting, just by adopting one simple mantra: “What you can when you can.” It’s all you need.
What You Can When You Can (#wycwyc) is a book, a movement, a mindset, and a lifestyle—one that harnesses the power of small steps to let you achieve your health and fitness goals on YOUR terms. The #wycwyc (pronounced “wickwick”) philosophy applies to anything and everything that contributes to a healthy, happy life: nutrition, exercise, physical and mental rejuvenation, and so much more.
It’s available for pre-order until April 28 and then will be for sale on Amazon and most major book retail sites. Make sure you check it out and support these two. They’ve inspired lots of people and work hard to continually bring great ideas and content like this to all of us. :)
The WYCWYC mindset is obviously one that I can get behind and support. I truly believe it’s better to do something than nothing. Maybe you can’t go kick your own butt for four hours in the gym every day like some people. But you can do something and that is very important! Little steps and actions do add up over time.
To learn more about the what you can when you can movement, check out their website at wycwyc.com.
