I have an excuse.
I often hear people making excuses in life: Excuses for why they didn't reach their fitness goals, why they didn't start their business this year, or make it to that one event they knew would be helpful for them. We struggle with time, money and what-if scenarios.
I hear people say things like, "If only I had the money to eat healthier," or, "Darn it, if only I had the time to play with my kids more," or, my personal favorite, “If I’d only started exercising when I was younger.”
I also hear people making excuses for putting things off. They say they'll start working out or meditating once things settle down a bit, once the kids are back in school. But once the kids are back in school another excuse comes up. It's a cycle that never ends.
The worst thing about excuses is how often they come true. We are all guilty of it. Once I have found an excuse, it usually comes true. Can you relate? Excuses are like magic. As soon as you think of an excuse, that excuse becomes real.
This is why we need to be very careful about the things we say and the things we think. Because if we say we don't have enough time to fit in our workout, then we won’t work out. If we say we can't afford to attend this or that certification, then that will also be the case: We'll never prioritize and save for the things that are most important for our personal growth.
Personally, I have put off a mobility training for almost a year and I am approaching my excuse box today. There’s my motivation to share with you why I won’t reach in the box. Because all these excuses will forever continue to manifest, for as long as we continue to make them.
Excuses are self-perpetuating that way. We are the ones who give them reality. Excuses have no power except the power we give them.
The absolute saddest thing in life is for people to get to the end of it and realize they left so much potential on the table--to think back on all the things they could have done, and were capable of doing, but made excuses not to do, for whatever reason.
If only we'd stop making excuses, and just start doing the work and taking risks, most of us would be surprised to find that "success" isn't nearly so far away (or difficult to attain) as we think.
The biggest obstacle is us and the mental blocks we put up. Excuses are enemy #1.
But this is a step many people will find one reason or another not to take, even though taking it would be the best thing they could do to move in the direction they want in life.
That's just the bare facts of the matter. I can't do anything to change those facts, nor do I have to. Fortunately, there are always enough people who do say yes, even if there are more who come up with reasons to avoid doing what they know they should be doing.
But we can. Today, we can take action, put excuses aside and make the commitment and get going. Act with confidence, and stop leaving all your potential on the table.
Remember, life gets in the way, so forgive it. Just stay consistent, feel your body, feed your body and listen to your body.
Susie
