I’m often inspired by other blog posts and today is no exception. I bring you a post by Renegade Mothering today. (Before all the rumors start: no I am not having kids anytime soon. It’s just an interesting post!).
I think she hits the nail on the head with her post. You can apply what she’s saying to any choices you make in life. I hate being lumped into a group. I hate being told I need to be a certain way. I am the way I am, people!
“The SECOND you stick that label on my forehead is the SECOND I FALL DESPERATELY AND TERRIBLY SHORT and walk around feeling less than and like I’ve betrayed something. My people. My team.
See, these teams, they’re gonna want me to abide by principles. They’re gonna want me to be consistent – adhere to guidelines and tried-and-true methods. But I can’t. I just can’t. I’m a great starter. Terrible finisher. Profoundly inconsistent. Excellent intentions, invariably poor execution, particularly in critical […] moments.”
Could that be any more accurate? Is it just me or did that totally resonate with you too? Mostly, I find I feel this way when it comes to the way I eat. We did a couple paleo challenges last year, I read a lot of paleo blogs, and we still cook paleo-style meals most of the time. Am I paleo? Mmmm kind of? maybe? not really? I don’t know. I’ve started saying we eat Primal recently because it’s more forgiving than Paleo, & let’s be honest, I fall short of Paleo all the time.
At first, when people saw me drink a beer or have a treat, they’d be all “Is that Paleo beer?” and I’d roll my eyes. Yeah guys, I’m a genius & I found a way to make beer Paleo! There are no grains, sugar, or alcohol. (It’s water?) I’m sorry I failed you, paleo, but I’m so not sorry.
Do I feel awesome when I don’t eat grains, dairy, legumes, etc? Yes. Do I want to be on the Paleo Team? No.
I want to be on my own team. My team does whatever we want. We eat what we want and we deal with the consequences later. It works for me & mostly gives me the ability to keep my (in)sanity. (Oh I bet N’s reading this & thinking about all the chocolate he’s going to eat. That guy is a sugar fiend!!)
Does that mean I’m going to stop talking about how great Paleo can be? No. When I cook at home (which is 5/7 nights a week btw), I definitely choose gluten free/legume free meals. They’re easy, delicious, and make me feel good. So yeah, I’ll probably tell you the benefits of trying out a month-long challenge if you’re interested in hearing it. That doesn’t mean I’m part of the team. Cheat meals are the best, guys. Cheat meals save my life.
The same goes for the CrossFit Team or the Running Team or whatever other Team (get out of here, Swimming Team) you can think of that I’d possibly belong to. I don’t want your teams.
What I’m basically saying is that I want to take the parts of these teams that I like and apply them to my life however I see fit. (Don’t we all? Everything in moderation, including moderation, right?) I just don’t fit into a mould.
So here’s to the Soft Super Beef Taco and Mexi-fries I’m going to wholeheartedly enjoy tonight at Taco Time, friends. (Don’t judge me til you’ve had it.)
Welcome to Team Human.
Anonymous
I'm on team Jacob