New Year - New Excuses?

It's January 8, 2018. The eighth day of a new year. A new year that brought new goals and resolutions. Statistics show that over 50%, yes 50%, of all people who made goals or resolutions, have already stumbled or given up. Are you still focused and committed to achieve what you set out to do? Or have you already slowed down or thrown in the towel? If you've already talked yourself out of or failed to take a step toward a goal, you probably have an excuse for why you've stumbled or given up. Excuses you tell yourself allow you to feel justified in not doing whatever it is that you should be doing. Excuses can be simple like "I'm too tired to work out" or "I didn't have time to read that chapter today" to ones that involve negative self talk and second guessing "Maybe I should skip that class" or "I've never been able to do that, why would I try now?".... Did you know giving excuses, to yourself and others, shifts the focus to the "story", not the situation at hand or the end goal you're working toward? The "story" doesn't make you a better person, help you get healthy, or even help you achieve the goal you set out to accomplish. You get caught up arguing for and accepting your limitations. You undermine your true abilities; ultimately affecting your self-esteem. There's a saying I learned from my grandma growing up: "Can't never could, don't never did, and won't never would". Every one of these phrases contain a verb that's in every excuse used to put off doing something or quitting. Each one of these words will keep you from continuing toward or even reaching the goals you adamantly committed to achieving at the start of the new year. Excuses let you say "no" to your true potential and limits your experiences in life. They condition you to accept less than you deserve. They remove transparency in your relationships, impacting trust and respect. Excuses keep you living a very small life filled with stress and many times, uncertainty; while stopping you from experiencing the really great things in life you've resolved to experience time and time again. It's the eighth day of the new year. If you're one of the 50% who've already given up on your goals...stop feeding yourself excuses; remember why you started and start again.
"It’s okay to restart and recreate. Don’t spend time beating yourself up over something that went wrong. There’s always another chance." – Unknown

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