It’s my birthday
It’s me and my partner’s anniversary
It’s Halloween
My dog was sick and I had to take them to the vet
It’s opening day for the Rockies
My college friend was in town
I had a big business trip and there was no good food around
My kid had a soccer tournament
I was up skiing with my friends
My partner got a promotion so they wanted to go out
It’s Friday
It’s a day that ends with y…..
The list goes on.
There is always an excuse. There will always be a reason to not follow through on your word or your promises to yourself. No one will throw you in jail or tell you that you’re lying to yourself. The fitness and health police do not exist. No one is going to make you change your ways.
If you think having a coach is outsourcing your motivation and accountability to someone else, you’ve already failed. You don’t not eat well, get enough sleep, or do your workouts because your coach didn’t provide enough accountability. That’s a story you tell yourself so you do not have to take accountability for your actions.
You can decide to make healthy and reasonable choices to move you towards your goals or you can choose to be at the mercy of these kinds of events.
Long story short: It’s up to you.
The point of this article isn’t to sermonize or tell you how bad you’ve been. You’re probably already waging that war in your head. But, sometimes we all need a metaphorical ‘slap to the face’ with a dose of reality.
Be honest with yourself. Don’t sugarcoat things. Are you tired of the bullshit? Are you tired of making yourself promises, breaking them, and then feeling disappointed? Until you feel enough pain with your current life you won’t feel the need to change things.
A few things to help you change this cycle:
Take accountability by getting clarity on your values.
What is important to you? Write it down. Do your actions and time you spend with your life reflect what is most important to you?
Check out this blog for more info on this.
Make time by eliminating useless activities and junk in your life.
You can’t add things without eliminating activities first. You already fill up everyday – so you’ll have to give something up. If your health or fitness goals are “SO important” than make some hard decisions. Stop hanging out with friends that sabotage your healthy behaviors. Give away your tv. Get rid of cable. Stop going out for drinks on Wednesdays. Stop staying at work late.
Don’t expect perfection.
That’s unrealistic for everyone. However, stop using that as an excuse. Set a behavior based goals and stick to it. Do your best, make mistakes, learn and repeat.
