I heard the pipes burst outside my apartment last night. At first, I thought it was just a quick rain shower, it had been cloudy all day. My movie ended about ten minutes later and I got up to get ready for bed. I turned on the sink to brush my teeth, and nothing came out. It wasn't a rain shower I heard. I made my way to the window and watched as water ran down my street surrounding the hole I had heard it shooting from before.
This is the third time a water main has broken since I have lived in my new place. I thought, by the morning, it would be fixed and water would be back on. But at 8 am, there was no water. I looked outside and there was no one working to fix the break. It is now four pm and the water won't be back until sometime tomorrow.
Why am I telling you this story? To talk a little about excuses, those reasons that keep us from reaching our goals.
I wanted to go for a long run today but I wouldn't be able to shower at my house when I was done. It would have been easy to say forget it, and do nothing today. Instead, I found options. I could drive to the office and shower, shower at the gym (which wasn't open until football was already on) or I could call a friend nearby. This was an easy fix.
How was I going to get my 64 oz of water in? It would have been easy to let the lack of water in the apartment keep me from reaching this goal. But it was also an easy fix. I took water bottles with when I went to shower and filled a few up at the work fridge.
My point is this: Life happens. There is always a reason, always an excuse to not do something. They are everywhere, they are easy to find, and they happen to everyone. You are too busy, you work too much, the kids have too much going on, you are tired, you don't feel good, there is no time, it is too much work, and on. But very rarely are excuses and reasons impossible to circumvent. The choice, however, is yours. You have to make a commitment to your health and to your goals. You have to be willing to work for it, make concessions and sacrifices, and be creative. There is always a way, if you have the desire to find it.
I'm not saying there is never a good reason to skip a workout or make a less than healthy decision. What I am saying is, every time you start to make an excuse or find a reason, ask yourself, could the opposite be true? Make it a habit to work around challenges instead of giving into them. Soon, many of the reasons and excuses you used to have will cease to exist as new habits and priorities take hold.
As always, I am here to help you. If there is a challenge you are seeing often or an excuse you just can't seem to get around, tell me about it. I'll ask questions and offer suggestions to help you. Those of you who have asked before know that I won't discount your reasons or your challenges, I will only help you to see them differently. If you don't reach out to me, reach out to a friend or family member. We can help each other find ways to overcome our challenges.
"Success is a tale of obstacles overcome, and for every obstacle overcome, an excuse not used. ~Robert Brault"
Becky
Side note:
Tuesday, I will be putting up standings from what I have right now. I am missing a lot of points so keep that in mind. I will also let you know who won the first Holiday week challenge!
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