12 Changes For 2012 - #11 - Eliminate Excuses

Given enough time and motivation we will convince ourselves of almost anything. And we can create excuses for any situation.

Most of mine appear before I start training. Or before I tackle a big project. I try to talk myself out of it. Put as many mental barriers in place as possible. Kick the can down the road with false promises that I will do it later. But later will never come if I keep listening to my own excuses.

Here's a list of my favorite ones:

• "I don't have time to eat healthy."
• "Too much work to go to the gym."
• "I hate running."
• "I don't have the energy for that."
• "It is too early for this."
• "My back / legs / shoulder hurts."
• "I don't want to embarrass myself."

And there's more where that came from.  Plenty more.

Any time I'm faced with something difficult or challenging, the voices start distracting me. If I listen or give them validity, I'm screwed.

Even when I start actively training, I'm not safe. I continually try to talk myself into taking it easy. Or cutting a workout short. Or slowing down. Or not giving it my full effort. And of course there's more where that came from. Plenty, PLENTY more.

Many people face the same challenge. To some degree or another. Maybe they call it procrastination? But they're coming up with flimsy reasons to "do it later." And like me, later never happens.

There is only one course of action: stop making excuses and start making progress. Put another way: shutup and do it!

Simple as that.

Eliminate excuses. Don't just stop listening to them. Stop creating them. Replace useless discussions (especially negative internal discussions) with productive actions. 

Less talking. More doing.

Talk when it is over.