Sounds like an Excuse

I didn’t walk on the treadmill the other night because I actually fell asleep on the couch after dinner. When I shared on FB about it one of my dear FB friends commented, “Sounds like an excuse.” What? What does she mean by an excuse? I was tired and my body shut down. How is that an excuse? Wow, the truth was that it was an excuse to not do what I said that I would do. Ouch. Reality hit me.

What is an excuse anyways? It is a justification, reason, explanation and a defense for your actions and the choices that you’ve made. How many excuses do you have for not exercising or eating right? Should we rename them “exercuses?” I’ve been blaming my couch. It calls me during the winter months. “Pssst, Shannon, over here. Grab your blanket and come sit down for awhile.” I can identify an excuse when I hear others speak about why they didn’t have a good week on the scale or why they haven’t exercised or why…you catch my drift. I can hear the excuses when others say them, but not when I do. Why is that? Am I in denial?

Late last fall, I decided to enter a half marathon with my sister. We are traveling to Jacksonville, Florida next weekend to walk in the 26.2 for Donna for Breast Cancer. There will be several people there, who will either do a marathon (26.2 miles) or a half marathon (13.1 miles). You can run or walk…it is a choice made by the participant. Originally, my sister wanted to run. I didn’t. I convinced her to walk. This brings me to my next rude awakening that I was faced with last night when asked the question, “Are you training or are you trying?” The fact of the matter is that I am “trying”…kind of a let’s just see what happens kind of thing. Something to do, but not committed to what it takes to train for this kind of event. To train is to prepare. To try is to attempt and maybe even struggle. Right now, I feel like I’m just trying for whatever the reason.

Where are you at right now? Do you have a plan? There will be weeks when you need a pass, but don’t let anything be an excuse or stand in your way of your final goal. Just stop for a minute and think to yourself, I have a plan. I am prepared. And nothing is going to get in my way.