Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Excuses

I've been thinking a lot lately about my life, and wondering why it has taken me until the age of 39 to get my act together and come to the realizations I have about my choices in regards to physical health.  In doing so, I have come to the conclusion that I've been plagued by a notorious disease that is found in our society in epic proportions.  It's called..."Excuse-itis"! 

Here is my own personal revelation on excuses:

For every 100 excuses, very few true reasons actually emerge,
and with a little bit of creativity, even most of those reasons can be overcome. 
Once overcome, I am released from what I have been
and propelled into what I am to become!

Excuses are so easy to come by.  They're free and plentiful, but they have drastic consequences.  Excuses steal motivation, breed procrastination, and prohibit progression!

These are a few of the excuses I have dealth with in the past, and my new "no excuse" list of the ways I am overcoming them:

I have no excuse to not eat right.  Even if I feel like it costs more to buy fresh fruits and vegetables than it does to buy processed foods, I can read lables, measure my portions, and choose wisely what I do purchase and consume.  In actuality, I'm spending far less now for much higher quality meats and produce, because food goes farther when I eat the correct portions, and I can actually eat for an entire day or more on what I used to spend on fast food for one meal.

I have no excuse not to exercise.  If my schedule is so hectic that I cannot find even 30 minutes a day to take care of my body, then I'm not managing my time well.  Admittedly, I have a tremendously busy schedule, I'm a wife, a mom to two young boys, a full-time employee with a 50-mile daily commute, a college student with papers to write, textbooks to read, and tests to take, a lay-pastor with responsibilities that require a fair amount of time outside of Sunday and Wednsday services, and a friend and family member to the other dear people God has given me that are close to me.  If I want to be able to successfully manage everything else in my life, I must plan time to do everything I can to help my body stay strong and healthy.  It will make me better able to accomplish everything else!

I have no excuse to feel self-conscious about exercising.  For a long time, I have been afraid of feeling of looking silly trying to exercise at my current weight.  Now, in truth, how ridiculous is that?!  At my weight I really need the exercise!  I allowed myself to believe that because I don't have anywhere in my house with enough space that I could lock myself away to exercise in complete privacy, that I couldn't do it at all.  Finally, I decided enough was enough!  I took a deep breath, ordered exercise DVDs, the Biggest Loser Challenge for our Wii, some good cross-training shoes, hand weights, a yoga mat, and a balance ball.  I pushed the big footstool out from in front of the couch in the livingroom, and told my husband this was something I had to do and the only place with enough space to do it was right there, in the middle of the house!  With tears in his eyes, he hugged me and told me how proud of me he was.  I sat my kids down and told them that mommy was going to start taking care of her body and get healthy to be there for them for a long, long time.  And now, my 6-year-old has become my workout buddy!  He loves to put on his shoes and work out right alongside of me and cheer me on.  And that makes me cry...in a very good way!

So, no more excuses! 

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