Excuses Get You Nowhere [VIDEO]

It’s so easy to come up with a million excuses to not do something. Success coaching has taught me the trick is to come up with just one reason why you should do it anyway.

This morning before heading to the gym for my 30-minute boot camp class, I made the decision that after class I’d go for a run. The class was tough and we did a bunch of running during the class. As we ran around the gym I told the instructor that I was planning to run afterwards, she said – “Guess you don’t have to.” That got me thinking. I really did not want to run.

As I left the gym I found myself thinking… “I already ran. I could go tomorrow. Today’s workout was harder than I thought it would be.” There was some serious negotiating going on!

I went to the reservoir anyway. As I walked down the path, I pulled out my phone and my earbuds. The batteries in my earbuds were dead – I’d have no music.

I decided to bail. Then I decided to stay, deciding to keep my commitment to myself and knew I could manage to run for twenty minutes without music.

I ran.

It was hot. I got very sweaty, and I was already sweaty from the boot camp.

Stick With Your Plan

Here is what I thought about as I ran around the reservoir:

1. Stop listening to other people – listen to what you want to do. It’s amazing how many people will try to pull you away from your goals. They won’t mean to, but they will. Consider what happened to me this morning. First it was my instructor and then a friend of mine commented on my post on Facebook “be careful in the heat today”. Only you know what’s right for you. Listen to yourself.
2. Don’t wait for the perfect time – it will never be perfect. You may feel that you don’t have enough time, the conditions may not be right, or maybe you don’t have everything you need. Do it anyway. I went for a short run, between things, without my headphones.
3. Find one reason why you can. I was driving by the reservoir and had just enough time. I had made a commitment to get in two runs a week and I wanted to get one of the runs over with.
4. You can do it. This sounds so simplistic and it is. It’s also the truth. You are so much more powerful than you think you are.

How can you apply these four lessons to your personal and professional life? Add your thoughts in the comments section below.