Make time, Not excuses!

We all make excuses from time to time. Sometimes they are legitimate excuses, and sometimes they are not. We have a "thing" to attend. I'm too tired after that day at work. The baby is sick. My car won't start. I'm just swamped. The dog is sick.... We have all been there. But, what about when excuses begin to become a habit? A way to talk yourself out of exercise, eating well, getting enough sleep, or being mentally healthy? Making excuses can have a much bigger negative impact on your life than you may realize. When you give yourself or someone else an excuse, you are giving up responsibility and personal growth.

When it comes to exercise, so many people use the excuse, "I just don't have time." Yes, schedules can get a bit busy. The fact is, if something is important enough to you, you will TAKE the time. See what I did there? You cannot make time, you have to take that time for yourself. It doesn't have to be a ton of time, just 30 minutes to an hour a day to get your heart rate going. What about "I'm just way too tired."? Oh really? Well, it's been proven that a great workout gives you tons of energy! Don't believe me, give it a try!

Have you been making excuses about your diet? When I use the term diet, I'm referring to HAVING a diet, not being ON a diet. I'm not a fan of "dieting," but that's another post for another day. Do you find yourself making excuses for eating poorly? Again, the most used excuse here is "I don't have enough time to prepare a delicious, healthy meal to put on the table, so I'll grab something quick". It's all about being prepared. Get the grocery shopping done on the weekends and do a little bit of prep work in the kitchen. That's going to save you lots of time during the week and your quality of your food will be much healthier.

These are just the tip of the iceberg of excuses. We all have our go to excuses. I challenge you to write down any excuse you find yourself making in the following week. Write it down, then under it, write out a way you can crush that excuse. Only you can take responsibility for your actions. When you put the work in, you can take all the credit!

Natalie Lurie
natalie@guidingfitness.com