THE 12 STEPS … TO A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

We all have the ability to change and improve ourselves and our lives. I started this blog so that I could contribute my knowledge on healthy lifestyles, playing my small part in offering people the information to make their world a better place, 

Moving from an average to a brilliant life will require you put in a load of effort. It isn’t easy. But it’s possible. You have to change your mindset, your behaviour, actions an habits.   To be brilliant you have to take responsibility for your own life, thoughts, behaviours and actions. But many people run away from their personal responsibility, by using one very popular word… EXCUSES. 

The only thing that can stop us adopting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is ourselves. The main way we will do that is to make excuses why we can’t.  So what does this very well used word mean.

According to the Oxford Dictionary… ‘A reason, either true or invented, that you give to explain or defend your behaviour’. In Collins Essential English Dictionary definition of excuse  as a Noun - an explanation offered to justify an action which has been criticized or as a reason for not fulfilling an obligation.As a Verb:1. to put forward a reason or justification for (an action, fault, or offending person) 2. to pardon (a person) or overlook (a fault) 3. to free (someone) from having to carry out a task, obligation, etc.: a doctor’s letter excusing him from games at school 4. to allow to leave  

We often use excuses to hide from our fear that we can’t really change or that our life can’t be any different.  Our excuses can often prevent us from achieving brilliance. Making excuses is a bad habit that keeps you from being as successful as you can be. 

We have been making excuses right from the beginning of the bible. When God asked Adam if he had eaten of the tree he was commanded not to, Adam went into excuse mode, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” (Genesis 3:12) And when God asked Eve what she had done, she also gave an excuse, “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” (Genesis 3:13) 

I found a great poem by Alanis Morissette -Excuses lyrics:  Why no one will help me I am too dumb I am too smart They’ll not understand me I am lonely They’ll hate me And there is not enough time It’s too hard to help me And god wants me to work No resting no lazy  These excuses how they served me so well They’ve kept me safe They’ve kept me stoic They’ve kept me locked in my own cell  I’m too far from home It takes far too much energy And I cannot afford to No one will ever see me  These excuses how they served me so well They’ve kept me safe They’ve kept me stoic They’ve kept me locked inside my cell  These excuses how they’re so familiar They’ve kept me small They’ve kept me blocked They’ve kept me safe inside my shell  Bringing this into the light Shakes their foundation And it clears my side Now my imagination Is the only thing that limits The bar that is raised to the heights  No one can have it all see I have to they want me to And I can’t let them down I’ll never be happy  These excuses how they served me so well They’ve kept me safe They’ve kept me small They’ve kept me locked inside my cell  These excuses how they’re so familiar They’ve kept me small They’ve kept me stoic They’ve kept me locked inside my cell 

The definition of stoic in the Collins Essential English Dictionary is one apparently or professedly indifferent to pleasure or pain. Excuse-making is a huge barrier to self-improvement.

We often use excuses that prevent us from doing something that in truth could be easily accomplished.  Eradicating excuses can set you on the path to accomplishing nearly anything you want. 

Having worked in the fitness industry for many years, you can bet I’ve heard nearly every excuse for not getting started on introducing exercise into somebody’s lifestyle. Here are some of the excuses that I’d liked to have received £1 each time I’ve heard it. I would of amassed a fortune by now. “I hate the idea of exercise.” “I’m too tired to exercise.” “A person my age would look ridiculous Working out.” “I feel fine, I don’t need to exercise.”  “I’m too heavy to exercise.” “I don’t have time.” “Exercise will make me hungrier. I’ll eat more and put on weight, not lose it.”  Often these “so called” obstacles are really excuses to validate the fact that they can’t be bothered making the effort to get into shape. Also where the pleasure of the results that would be gained is still less than the pain in their minds of exercising. As well as many are afraid of failing at any attempt to improve their health and fitness so they blame something else for their lack of trying as the easy way out. I’m not being critical here, or offensive. I love exercising, as much as I love the benefits, and the greatest pleasure to me is when a client succeeds by achieving results from following through. The greatest frustration to me is those I can’t help, because they won’t make that first step. 

Here are some great quotes:

• An excuse is worse than a lie, for an excuse is a lie, guarded. Alexander Pope
• Every vice has its excuse ready. Publilius Syrus
• He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. Benjamin Franklin
• An excuse is worse and more terrible than a lie; for an excuse is a lie guarded. Alexander Pope
• Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure. Don Wilder
• Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you, never excuse yourself.Henry Ward Beecher
• Nothing is impossible; there are ways that lead to everything, and if we had sufficient will we should always have sufficient means. It is often merely for an excuse that we say things are impossible. Francois De La Rochefoucauld
• The best job goes to the person who can get it done without passing the buck or coming back with excuses. Napoleon Hill
• I attribute my success to this - I never gave or took any excuse. Florence Nightingale
• People with integrity do what they say they are going to do. Others have excuses. Dr. Laura Schlessinger

When you make excuses, blame other people, complain, or criticize, you give your power away. You turn over control of your emotions to the people and situations you are blaming or complaining about.

We all can find excuses as to why we can’t do something. Making up excuses takes a lot of energy and time. Instead of focusing on what we can’t do, lets focus on what we can do. Instead of coming up with all kinds of excuses why it won’t work, lets focus on why it can work. Recognize when you are making excuses and propel yourself toward action, toward accomplishing all the things you want to do, and ultimately, toward self-realization and happiness, and living with a healthy lifestyle. 

When you accept complete responsibility for your life, you will no longer make excuses or blame others for anything in your life that you’re not happy about. You would refuse to criticize others for any reason. You refuse to complain about your situation or about what has happened in the past. You eliminate all your if-onlys and what-ifs and buts, focusing instead on what you really want and where you are going. 

So make the decision to accept complete responsibility for yourself, your life, and your results, with no excuses. From this moment forward, no matter what occurs, say to yourself, “I am responsible, 100% responsible for what is happening in my life “.  Understand that you are the only person responsible for your current circumstances. You realize that you are where you are and what you are because of your own choices and decisions in the past, and since you made those choices and decisions, only you are responsible. 

You will now refuse to make excuses or to blame anyone else. You see yourself as the primary creative force in your own present and your own future.  Realize that your success or failure depends on you. It depends on the choices you make. It depends on your attitude. Resolve to start accepting responsibility today. Don’t find an excuse, find a way. Don’t make excuses, make good. Remember what Winston Churchill said, “Responsibility is the price of greatness.” 

Get real with yourself - stop making excuses. Don’t any longer let your excuses get in the way of you adopting a healthier lifestyle. Commit yourself to getting the most out of life by overcoming your excuses. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.  

The mark of brilliant people is that they refuse to make excuses, blame others, or complain about their situations. Instead, they say, over and over, “I am responsible!” Whenever something goes wrong, resist the temptation to become angry, blame others, or make excuses. Instead, ask questions like, “What’s the solution? What do we do now? What is the next step? How do we solve this problem? How do we limit the damage? How can we prevent this from happening again? Where do we go from here?” 

I know this is a difficult subject to deal with. I know that its often automatic response to make an excuse. Often we’ve opened our mouth and made it, before we have even thought things through.  It’s an area that I take very personally. Why? As a coach it has to often been the greatest barrier I’ve met when working with others. And, a very dear, close friend has allowed her life to be stuck in a time warp, where she can’t move forward, and won’t allow herself to find happiness, joy, peace or success. Everything that happens in her life, everything that does happen in her life, she finds someone or something to blame. She has all the talents, abilities and is passionate about helping others, and the day she sees her excuse mentality, and removes it, she will move forward in leap and bounds. So will you, if you eliminate excuses from your life. Take action, start now! 

So, if I don’t have writers block, get abducted by martians, forget how to turn on my computer, or can’t get my daughter off the computer, I will be back within a week.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 at 11:26 pm and is filed under Blogroll. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.