Failing to have squeaky clean days doesn't make you a failure

"Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" -- Winston Churchill

I had a strong tendency early in my Bright Line Eating journey to view failure as complete.

I'd print out 100-day charts and put a gold star on every day when my lines were squeaky clean.

When I broke after day 5 or day 14 or whatever, I'd crumple up the chart and toss it. I’d failed. Again.

After starting and then tossing about ten 100-day charts, I stopped using charts. What's the point? It was just demoralizing to keep throwing them away and starting over.

But today I realized there's another way to think about it. Squeaky-clean days are to a food person what cigarette-free days are to a smoker trying to quit: That's the goal, but it’s hard to get on the first try. It takes most people some failure before they get there.

Think about this: The National Institute on Drug Abuses reports that relapse is common in drug addiction treatment, and estimates relapse rates to be between 40 and 60 percent.

Quitting cigarettes is just as hard. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it takes 8 to 11 attempts for a smoker to successfully quite. The American Cancer Society suggests 8 to 10.

Anyone trying to quit addictive food behaviors -- that is, to get squeaky clean bright lines -- might find failure is as normal a part of their journey too. You might well have to experience some failure before you succeed.

That’s fine. You can learn something from every time you break a bright line. You can get right back onboard and keep going. What matters is THAT you keep going.

George Custer motto is a good one to remember: "It's not how many times you get knocked down that matters. It's how many times you stand back up."

Disclaimer: This site is not officially affiliated with Bright Line Eating or Susan Peirce Thompson. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.