Maybe I led you to believe that basketball was a God given gift, and not something I worked for… every single day of my life.
- Michael Jordan
This motivational Monday focuses on the above Michael Jordan commercial. In the video Jordan reminds us that even he works really hard to become the greatest basketball player of his time. Getting healthy is the same story. Good health doesn’t just come easy and you have to put in the effort to earn it. Eating right, sleeping enough, adequately exercising is hard to do in a busy schedule, but how bad do you really want to get in shape?
The Truth Behind Excuses
People tend to make excuses for themselves when they feel like something is hard. Have you ever noticed that whenever people fail, they’ll blame it on something external and not their own character?
For example, when people say,
“I didn’t go running today because the weather was too hot.”
What they are really saying is,
“I didn’t go running today because I’m too lazy to deal with the hot weather.”
Another example,
“I eat out all the time because I don’t have enough time to prepare my own healthy meals.”
What they are really saying is,
“I am bad at time management and I don’t care enough about my health to work cooking healthy meals into my schedule.”
If you do this too, don’t be ashamed of yourself, it’s only natural (people never want to ruin their own character). Instead of getting angry or sad, channel this energy into correcting this behavior.
Make the Correction
The first and only step to correction is to take note of how many excuses you make throughout the day. It’s easy to do, just start being aware of sentences that start with “I can’t…” or “I didn’t…”. You’ll be surprised at how much better off you’ll be once you know that you can’t B.S. yourself.
On an ending note, when working towards your goal, never think “I can’t…” and only think “How can I…” as illustrated by the picture below.
Photo of Sara Koehnke (LIVESTRONG Ultimate You Winner)
3 Comments
Want your own avatar that will work on this blog and many others? Get it here!
When we are on an exercise and diet program it might take a week or two before we notice any changes, but they will steadily appear. After the first month, you will be able to see the results and measure them in terms of looser fitting clothes.
Keeping your motivation up is one of the most difficult aspects of dieting. There will be days when healthy eating goes out the window, and there will be weeks where you may not lose any weight…or put a little back on.
This is normal for everyone, dieters or not, so do not let it undo your plans for a slimmer you. You are not doing anything “wrong”, but you may need to look at your plan. Do you need to increase your activity levels? Make a few more changes to your diet? Put more effort into sticking to your current plan?
The other side of this is to make sure you celebrate your goals. While there is joy enough in stepping on the scales and seeing them dip lower, be sure to mark long-term progress with a reward, such as new clothes or time off from domestic chores.
Celebrating is also a way to involve your nearest and dearest; it is up to you whether you want their encouragement in the form of gentle reminders not to eat certain foods. But support from other people can get you through the bumpy patches.
Hey! That’s me! *gets excited* I’m glad you thought I was worthy of being put here =) Cheers.
@Sara Koehnke
Thanks for visiting Sara! You are worthy of much more than a mention on this blog! Keep up the great work and keep inspiring people!