Shooting for perfection can undo what we try so hard to achieve, says Alice Domar, PhD. and author of Happy Without Being Perfect. I know this. I have a perfectionist personality. And while two little boys have taught me that I can't always have a perfectly-ordered house or a well-oiled schedule, while I know I won't ever have that unattainable Hollywood body, and while cancer has taught me that simply being alive really is enough, I still stumble on my perfectionist tendencies sometimes. Most of us do, says Domar for The Oprah Magazine (September 2008).

Think of the angst people feel when they cut a workout short. Does a few minutes really matter? Nope. What if we derail our diet because that chocolate brownie is just too hard to pass up? Need we give up on the whole day and eat like crap? No. Just eat the brownie, be OK with it, and get back on track.

The thing is, none of is perfect. And none of us ever will be. We are human. We have flaws, struggles, obstacles, backslides. Which is why Domar says we should cheer ourselves on for the mere fact that we are even thinking about positive change. Yes, it's the thought that counts. Not being perfect.

Here's how it works: I am thinking I will work out tomorrow. What if I don't get to it? Hard as it is to convince myself of this, I know it is OK. I can always catch a workout the next day. And that is good enough.