No More Excuses

Face it. Life happens. There’s always going to be a reason that you can probably legitimately convince yourself that you don’t have time to work out, or to be bothered with losing weight. We do it every day, put things off, steer clear of people that we don’t want to talk to, avoid, dodge, and hope that things will just work out.

I’m sure we can all justify this, right?

The things that happen inside your head are so important to identify and fix as they occur. When you’re faced with a challenging situation, think positive, if you hear your brain telling you something else, change it. Sometimes during spin class, I get to a point where I think “This is too hard, I can’t do it.” Right about then the instructor blurts out something like “If you think this is too hard, stop it. Do it. Rise to the challenge.”

It’s amazing when you can identify the things your brain is telling you, without you even really knowing what’s going on! The big focus I have right now is not making excuses for why I can’t get to the gym, why I can’t work out, etc. etc. There’s always a way. I’m a busy guy, work more than full time, have two kids, a girlfriend, and friends. I have to balance this all while I try to meet my fitness and weight loss goals.

I think one of the things that I hear a lot from people is that they can’t afford the gym, but these same people spend money often frivolously. You can get good deals on gym memberships at Costco. Even just walking in off the street to most gyms, you can pay about $40 a month. Cut dinner out for two nights per month, problem solved. There’s even smaller independent gyms around where I live that cost as little as $15 a month.  I got very lucky, I had purchased a membership in Seattle for a small chain of gyms that was acquired by 24 Hour Fitness. I’m locked in to $10 a month for life. There’s been years where I never used it, but always paid, it’s worth it now.

Do little things that add up. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, park in the furthest space at the store, go for walks instead of sitting and watching television. When you’re bored (not really hungry) drink water instead of eating. All of these little things add up over time and can make a big difference!

So don’t start Monday. Don’t start after the holidays. Don’t wait until there’s a certain number on the scale. Start now, hold yourself accountable, and know that whatever you want to do, you are capable of and able to do. No more excuses, now is the time for action.