Great little article about letting go of rigid thinking

This article has some great common-sense tips for resolving to be more open, flexible, and self-compassionate when adopting new healthy habits in the new year: https://www.seattletimes.com/life/wellness/two-numbers-to-ignore-and-three-pieces-of-nutrition-advice-for-2024 (2 numbers to ignore and 3 pieces of nutrition advice for 2024)

Here's the best sub-section, which can be applied 100% to the TMS recovery process (that's my bolding on the fifth item and the quote):

Trade all-or-nothing for “good enough”
There are too many ways that all-or-nothing, black-or-white thinking gets in the way of caring for ourselves. Some things I’ve seen in my clients, as well as friends and family:

• The idea that it’s not worth exercising if you don’t have at least X time to commit to it.
• The belief that if at some point during day you “fail” to eat “perfectly,” then it doesn’t matter what you eat the rest of the day.
• Abandoning a new habit because you forgot to do the thing once.
• Holding off on doing something new until you’re sure you can do it “perfectly.”

Perfectionism can stop us from taking positive actions that support our health and well-being, and it can make us abandon new good-for-us habits if we falter, and shame sets in. Shame is never a positive motivator for change. Going for “good enough” and extending ourselves some self-compassion — which is the antidote for shame — can help us keep moving forward. To paraphrase the philosopher Voltaire, don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Think progress, not perfection.

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Now I'm trying to decide whether to send the article to a friend, who gets up and marches in place if she thinks she won't hit her 10,000 steps for the day - and she does this while we're supposedly socializing. It's not just vaguely annoying - I have also thought that it's obsessive, and she is, of course, prone to anxiety and TMS symptoms. Now we know that not only is 10,000 steps a fake number and scientifically excessive, but that trying to reach it every day might be counteracting health benefits due to the stress of an irrational obsession!