Give Me Your Best Excuse
Your excuses are NOT the conversation.
Trust me, if there’s an excuse I’ve heard of it. I’ve heard you say it in passing, as much as I’ve heard you say it directly to my face. I’ve been doing this fitness thing long enough that I’ve heard it all. I’ve probably thought of it myself as well a time or two.
Excuses are comforting though. They give us an “out” from all the things we don’t want to do, including reaching any goals about creating balance in the chaos amongst us. They act as our preverbal security blanket, keeping us in our comfort zone.
That comfort zone is such a shitty place to be though. I mean I get it, the prospect of trying something new and epically failing is terrifying, the prospect of change in general for most people is super intimidating. Because while change itself isn’t necessarily hard, the anticipation of what waits on the other side is killer. We don’t like to live in ambiguity so we don’t, we stay securely in the place of comfort, even if it’s detrimental to our health and well being.
Because look, you’re not an idiot. You know that you’ve hit that point where you want to change so badly, you think about it all the time but you also are low key terrified because you don’t know how that change will actually impact your life. How will eating healthier impact your family gatherings? How will making time to workout impact your relationship with your kids? Will your tribe understand WHY you’re doing what you’re doing, or is it so outside of the norm that you fear you’ll be rejected?
OR are you scared to change because you think if you do, you’ll suck at it, the change won’t hold and then all of a sudden you’ll become one of those people that everyone else says “well she tries and tries to lose weight but nothing seems to work” and that’s embarrassing AF?
The excuse is readily available to get you out of putting forth the effort though so you use it. The “oh I can’t get to the gym because of _________”; “I can’t eat healthy because __________________”.
After all, you can’t fail if you never try right?
Every time I think of an excuse, every time I hear one, I think of the alternative. For me, when excuses are being thrown around, I think about it like a crossroads, and then I think about the moment I started walking again.
Because my injury was so significant and the pain was so intense, I spent the first 6 months or so of being hurt on some hardcore pain meds. Like enough to tranquilize a horse. As a result, there’s not a lot I really remember about those first several months of my life. It’s hazy, with memories being filled in maybe by my subconscious but also by my parents.
When I got to walk again though, I distinctly remember that. I was off the pain meds by that point and I was FUCKING SCARED. I remember everything about that moment in time down to how the PT’s office SMELLED. That’s how vivid that memory is for me. And I remember thinking “meh fuck this, I’m good. I’m not strong enough and I’m going to fall and then I’ll be back in surgery” and the litany of BS continued. Then I remember my PT looking at me and saying “you can either get up and walk or not. It’s up to you but you’re not going to fall. You’re stronger than what you think”.
Obviously it all worked out but that anticipation of the unknown almost left me completely stuck in a reality where I was surviving, but not thriving.
I’ve taken that moment in time and carried it with me, compared every other tough as nails situation to it. Because if I can learn how to walk again, I can do just about freaking anything and BECAUSE I got the chance to learn to walk again, I’m going to try do just about anything. And if I fail, at least I failed trying, at least I learned and know where I need to make changes and at least I showed myself that I am stronger and more capable than I think I am.
