Wiggle Room and Long-Term Wellness

Why Leaving Wiggle Room Is the Secret to Long-Term Wellness Success

Wiggle Room and Long-Term Wellness. When it comes to improving your health and wellness, most people think they need to go all-in from day one. You know the drill: no sugar, no carbs, no fun, work out seven days a week, eat salad every day. While that level of commitment may sound like the fast track to success, it often backfires. Why? Because it’s too rigid for us mere mortals! It doesn’t allow for the unpredictability of real life. That’s where the concept of “wiggle room” comes in, and it can make all the difference in your long-term success.

Wiggle room means flexibility. It means permission. It means sustainability.

When you leave space in your wellness journey for imperfection, you’re setting yourself up for progress, not for disappointment and burnout. Whether you’re starting a new way of eating, aiming to move your body more, or trying to prioritize sleep and stress reduction, wiggle room allows you to grow at a pace that fits your real life.

Let’s say you’ve committed to cooking at home more often. Great goal! But what happens when your day gets away from you and you don’t have the time or energy to prep and cook a full meal? If your plan were rigid, you might end up ordering takeout and feeling like you failed. If your plan had wiggle room, though, you might have had some healthy frozen options on hand—or simply chosen to make a snack plate and move on. The key difference here? One approach leaves you discouraged, and the other helps you stay on track without guilt.

Wiggle room also takes the pressure off perfectionism. So many people abandon their health goals because they believe they “blew it” with one misstep. I’ve worked with clients who have told me they did well until a special occasion or a day of what they perceived as weakness took them off track. They got angry with themselves and simply gave up. The truth is your journey isn’t about being perfect; it’s about being consistent. A little flexibility allows you to bounce back quickly rather than spiral into all-or-nothing thinking.

Another major benefit? Leaving room to adjust as you learn more about what works for you. Maybe you planned to go to the gym five days a week, but your body feels better with long walks and yoga. Giving yourself permission to shift your strategy makes it more likely that you’ll stick with it and you might actually enjoy the process with a little wiggle room built in.

This approach also builds resilience. Life will throw curveballs: vacations, illnesses, stressful work weeks, family emergencies. When your wellness plan includes some wiggle room, you can adapt without abandoning your goals entirely.

Here’s the secret: the best wellness plan is the one you can live with; the one that works for you! Living includes ups and downs, detours and delays. That’s not failure; it’s simply life. By planning for real life rather than an idealized version of it, you’re more likely to create habits that actually last.

So, as you work on improving your health, remember to leave yourself some breathing space. Build in flexibility. Allow for human moments. Wiggle room isn’t weakness; it’s wisdom. It’s the space where progress happens.

Are you allowing yourself enough wiggle room in your health journey?

Your questions and comments are always welcome! I love to hear from you.

Helping You Achieve Major Wellness!

Cheryl

I’m author, health coach, and entrepreneur Cheryl A Major, and I would love to connect with you! If you’re new to the world of creating better health, both mental and physical for yourself, please check out my training on how to get sugar out of your diet. Crack Your Sugar Habit is where to check it out. Learn how sugar, as yummy as it may taste to you now, affects your mental and physical health and how to go about reducing or eliminating it from your diet.

Be sure to follow me on X (formerly Twitter) so you won’t miss my daily postings for health, wellness and mindset! Please check out the books I’ve written here: Cheryl’s Books