If there’s one thing that Nike has gotten correct, it’s their motto: Just Do It. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to skip out on the gym. It’s comfortable sitting on the couch watching TV. It’s cold outside. I have to drive to the gym. I’m tired and sore from yesterday’s workout. Excuses are a dime a dozen. All of us can come up with millions of reasons why we don’t want to do something. And most of the time, it’s not because we can’t. It’s because we don’t want to. Or, we find some reason for us to justify our lack of motivation. Whether it is with weight loss, monitoring, gym, healthy living, school, traveling, relationships, we probably spend more time coming up with why we can’t do something rather than just doing it.

It simply boils down to how badly you want it. If you want that Gucci purse badly enough, you’ll find some way to attain it. If you want that chocolate chip cookie badly enough, you’ll find some way to get one and eat it. Same goes for weight loss. If you want to lose that 5 pounds badly enough, you’re willing to sacrifice to achieve your goals. If you want to do anything badly enough, you’ll do it. But for most of us, me included, it is simply too hard. We want to reap the benefits without putting in the hard work. And unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. Nothing comes for free.

I tell myself this every day when I have my “lazy couch” moment where I just can’t be bothered to go to the gym. But I realize that if I want to lose that extra pound, I’ve got to put in the extra effort. Is it easier to just stay at home? Yes. Is it easier to just eat everything and not monitor? Yes. Is it easier to pretend that life’s problems disappear if I can just divert my attention long enough with this bag of chips? Yes! But easy gets me no where. Easy gets me feeling, acting, thinking AND looking like crap. Easy gets me disappointment and anger.

Where does the hard road take me? To success beyond weight loss. If I can control my body, if I can control my mind, I can do everything. I can hike Mount Everest, I can graduate from law school, I can travel to Africa. All because I’ve already learned how to succeed. I think my weight loss journey has stopped being about losing weight and more about overall self-improvement. I want to succeed and accomplish my goals in life. If I can cross “lose weigh off my list, it’ll make everything else that much easier.

I’m making a promise to myself that I won’t let excuses stop me from achieving what I want in life. I am going to believe in myself, believe in my abilities, and believe in my talents. Instead of emphasizing failure, I will search for success.

I will just do it.

 

What are some things you’ve been meaning to do but have found reasons or excuses to not do them?

Tagged as: accomplishments, life goals, tackling weight

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