No More Excuses

It’s spring and rebirth is all around us!  Baby animals are scampering around, trees are coming back to life and flowers are exploding with color.  Perhaps other than New Years, there is no other time of year that beckons us so compellingly to make a new start like spring does.

What about you?  Do you feel the pull of change and transformation?  Maybe you are cleaning your house or office or car.  Maybe you are going through your schedule or your inbox, clearing out the clutter and those things that are holding you back and stifling your creativity and joy.

Sometimes we have to just take a step back to see that we actually have options when it comes to those things that steal our time and our physical space.

• Did you know that you really can say, “No” when asked to volunteer at a fundraiser?
• Are you aware that you don’t have to hang onto all those family keepsakes that are suffocating you?
• How about this:  when your phone rings, you don’t have to answer it!

You see, spring cleaning is about more than just shampooing the carpets!

So while we’re clearing clutter and excess baggage in our lives, let’s also take a look at our excuses for not taking our health seriously.  These excuses pile up just like the clutter in the garage or the back seat of your car.  The danger is that we get so used to them that we accept them as status-quo.  Eventually we hardly even notice them and we stop fighting them.

Today, my friend, we fight.  We’re coming clean about excuses for neglecting our health.  We’re going to force ourselves to look hard at the clutter in the corners of our mind, sort through it and get rid of it once for all.  Just like the warm sun and breezes of spring revitalize the earth, we are going to be transformed by intentional purging of deadly excuses.

Common excuses for not exercising

1.  I don’t have time to exercise.

This is probably the most common of all excuses for not working out.  You’re busy.  You have a job to get to, kids to pick up from school, a lawn that needs to be mowed, supper that needs to be cooked and aging parents to care for.  The car needs to be taken to the repair shop and you have a dentist appointment coming up.  Anyone can see that in your schedule, there is just no time for exercise.

But think about this:  If you do not exercise, it is virtually certain that you will start to experience the symptoms of the illnesses and diseases that result from a sedentary lifestyle.

What will you do then?  You will have to find the time to make an appointment with your doctor, take time off from work to drive to his office, wait to be seen and wait at the pharmacy to get your prescription.  But with chronic illness, this won’t be a one-time thing; it will happen over and over again with increasing frequency as your illness progresses and more and more medical tests and procedures are needed.

Think of how much time this will take!  Will you find time in your schedule for all of this?  Yes, you will plan your schedule and make the necessary adjustments in order to accommodate your illness.

You see, you really do have time.  Why not just make time now to exercise and prevent the illness in the first place?

2.  I dislike exercise.

This is totally understandable:  exercising is hard.  If it were always fun and easy, more people would do it and we wouldn’t have the current epidemic of obesity!  But many people who work out every day do not really like it; they just do it anyway.

Look at it this way:  do you like having low energy?  Do you like not being able to fit into your clothes?  Do you like having to undergo medical procedures because of illnesses caused by neglecting your health?

Sometimes we have to ‘choose our dislike.’  It’s hard to exercise, but it’s also hard being overweight and tired all the time.  And guess what?!  You may find that you begin to enjoy the exhilaration that exercising brings!

3.  I don’t feel like exercising.

Lack of energy can be a real problem when it comes to exercising.  It’s hard to think about expending energy when you can barely make it through the day.

But be encouraged:  as you begin exercising, you will steadily gain more energy.  Not only will your aerobic base improve, delivering more oxygen to your body systems, but you will also be building muscle:  the more muscle you have, the more energy you have!

You won’t gain energy, however, until you start moving.

4.  It isn’t a good time for me to exercise.

I’ll start soon, just as soon as

• School lets out for the summer
• School starts back in the fall
• I get some nice workout clothes
• I get my aging parents settled
• I get organized
• The weather warms up a little
• The weather cools down
• The kids get a little older
• I get ahead in my work
• I get used to my new job
• The holidays are over
• I get my house cleaned…

Listen:  there will never be a perfect time to take your health seriously.  You just have to decide to do it.

You have to start.

The truth is that all those fit people out there have excuses too.  They just decide to face them and overcome them.   It’s not any easier for them than for you; they have just decided what their priorities are. They fight every day:  and win!

The same can be true of you.  And this is a perfect time to clear out the clutter of excuses in your life and remake yourself.  Spring is stretching out before you in all its beauty and brightness. Take advantage of the exhilaration and revitalization that this time of year brings:  transform your mind and transform your body.

You can do this.