No excuses

“I’M sorry, Coach. I’m so busy right now because I’ll have to catch up my shipment of my goods and I lack sleep. I cannot do my workout today, I have a terrible headache.”

As a fitness coach, I always make a follow-up of my clients especially if they have been absent from the gym for a long time. This is my way of showing concern for their health and I also want to give them favorable results. Some of them respond and go back to their fitness program. But there are also those who make lots of excuses. Here are the common ones:

Business projects and the need to go early in the office

Business meetings

Running errands for their kids

Unsettled labor problem among their employees

Not feeling well

Always traveling

Lack of sleep because of evening activities

Undergoing diet plan and the diet consultant advised them not to exercise

To me, these are just alibis so I just laugh and shrug my shoulders off. I ask myself: They stop exercising and taking care of their body because of these reasons? What are they working for? To save money for their hospital bills?

Maybe they expect an easy way to lose weight and keep it off. Have you tried miracle schemes, diet pills, slimming gadgets, creams or the like that promise to whittle your body down without any work on your part at all? Even if you have not fallen for any of these gimmicks of the diet trade, ask yourself if you have ever worked hard to achieve your goals. It doesn’t even have to be related to losing weight It could be anything from something at work to something in your home life.

Are you always looking to accomplish something by doing as little effort as possible? How many times have you taken shortcuts or done less than your best when trying to achieve something? How did it work out? Were you satisfied with the results? Would you say you were successful? Be honest about why you took the easy route. Has it been a lifelong habit or did something happen to change the way you approach a challenge? Why do you cut corners? Out of laziness? Impatience? Fear of failing if you take a more challenging path?

To get anywhere in life you have to be dedicated and hardworking. Making shortcuts or attempting to do things the easy way is a sure road to failure. If you hope to accomplish anything worthwhile, you’ve got to do the work. And I don’t mean that you have to work at weight loss (though of course, you do). Putting a valiant effort is the prime ingredient for success in everything from maintaining a loving relationship and raising a family to advancing in corner. Hard workers succeed, those who take short cuts typically do not.

So why aren’t you working hard? If laziness is your problem, you must think of the benefits why you’re doing it and pick up yourself and get going. Realize too, that energy begets energy. You know that old saying, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.” The more you do, the more you can do and I believe you can do. I believe the same holds true when it comes up putting effort into reaching a goal. Once you get going, working hard will be easier for you. You’ll get into it and the lazy person in your past will seem like a stranger.

Making excuses

Do you always have a reason for not making good for your commitments? If that’s the case, then you are a liar and have no word of honor. Those who make excuses are people who always find a reason for not doing what they have committed to do; whether that commitment is to themselves or to others. They are never at a loss for a creative reason for their actions. But when you examine that justification it almost always breaks down. Excuses are big obstacles to the road to change, though you may not even be aware that you’re making them. Instead, you may just view as “reasons.” When you’re late for an appointment or you break a promise to do somebody a favor, do you say: “I was late for lunch because of the traffic” when the real reason is: “I was late for lunch because even though I know there is always traffic at this hour, I was talking on the phone and didn’t leave early enough.”

If you’re capable of making excuses like that, you are probably also capable of making excuses for not exercising and eating right. How many times you have lied to yourself about why you didn’t make it to the gym or why you ended up ordering a pizza and ice cream for dinner? Do you tell yourself things like: “Well, my ankle was kind of hurting and that’s why I cannot exercise.

Excuses are a sure sign that you’re not ready to do he hard work of change that lies in front of you. On the other hand, if you’re willing to call yourself on you  excuses and see them for what they are–diversionary tactics that you’re using to keep yourself from feeling awful about making bad excuses or ways to defend your current way of life–then there’s hope. You need to realize that making excuses affects not just you but others in your life. Sometimes excuses an be legitimate but mostly they’re just dishonest. If you’re always giving yourself a pass and asking other people to do the same, you’re never going to get anywhere.

People who succeed in keeping their body fit and losing weight give up making excuses. They don’t let themselves off the hook. They’re not perfect but when they are not, they take responsibility for their actions and then move on. It doesn’t matter what kind or how much exercise you do as long as you’re consistent about it. It is the key to success. Exercise must be as integral part of your life as taking  daily shower and brushing your teeth. Build it into your life and stay with it.