I’ll be perfectly honest with you: I used to be the queen of excuses. I made them all the time. I believed them & I wanted everyone around me to believe them, too.
I had never met an excuse I wouldn’t grab up and use to justify my indulgences, laziness or surrender.
I worked too much.
I was depressed.
I was incredibly stressed.
My metabolism was slow.
I was lonely.
You name it, I used it to justify giving up, giving in and not pressing forward.
You know what I decided? I will never make another excuse. I will practice radical ownership of my life and my choices.
Sure, things happen. There are facts but there won’t be any more excuses.
Let me explain what I mean and give you some examples.
There will be days when I am tired. There will be days when I work very long hours, when I’m emotional, when I don’t feel well or when I’m not in my normal setting.
Those are facts.
However, none of those things justify making choices I’m not proud of. None of those factors justify throwing away my goals.
No matter what happens around me, I am in control of what I put in my mouth.
No matter what happens around me, I am in control of my attitude.
No matter what happens around me, I am in control of my choices.
Last week I was on a cruise. Lots of things were out of my control on the cruise ship, but I decided that 3 primary things would always be in my control:
- The food choices I make
- Getting in a daily workout
- Maintaining a positive attitude
On my first day on the boat, I got hurt. I had an accident in the gym and went down like a lead ballon under 175 lbs of weight.
My back was killing me all week. I was embarrassed, my ego was bruised and my back was incredibly tender.
In the past, I would have decided that I couldn’t workout because I hurt my back. I would have used the injury as an excuse to justify a crappy attitude and my crappy attitude would justify crappy food choices.
Not this time. I don’t make excuses anymore.
Sure, I hurt my back. Fact. Also a fact: there are plenty of workouts I can do that won’t aggravate my back and so I’ll do those every single day and I won’t miss a workout.
I didn’t miss a workout.
Every single morning I sat with my journal and wrote answers to the question, “What can I do to create joy today?”
I defined those things & I embraced them.
I acknowledge facts but I practice separating them from my choices.
Fact: I am tired.
Truth: I can still make great food choices.
Fact: I have intense cravings.
Truth: I can still make great food choices.
Fact: There are pastries and treats all around me.
Truth: I can still make great food choices.
Here’s what I tell myself (and I choose to believe it):
I am strong. I am in control of my choices. I do hard things. I look for ways to make myself proud. I make no excuses. I always find a way. I am relentless in my pursuit of things that make me feel incredible.
How about you? No excuses today, okay?