Excuses

I woke up making excuses this morning for why I couldn't go for my run.  The excuses went like this: it might be cold, I have to drive to Atlanta tonight, I'm not even packed, I'm still sore from Taekwondo last night and kisado the night before, and the best one ever: I just don't want to go.  All of these excuses got me thinking, as I dressed reluctantly for my run and headed out the door. 

As I ran I thought about excuses, and I thought that I really need to stop making them.  I sat on the couch for years making excuses about why I couldn't do things.  I can't write, because no one will want to read it, or I'll never come up with a good enough story, or my dialogue and description stinks. I can't exercise because I don't have enough time.  I can't eat healthy because healthy food costs too much money.

Give me a break!  When you make excuses, the only person you're holding back is yourself. You're stopping yourself from realizing your full potential.  Stop making excuses about why you can't do things and start making excuses about why you have to! 

I have to exercise, because it's good for my health and my body and my mind.  I have to write, because it's something I love to do, it gives me a feeling of satisfaction, and it makes me feel whole.  I have to eat healthy foods to nourish my body and to set an example for my children so that they live healthy lives too. 

It's just as easy to make a positive excuse to do something than a negative one, and it makes you feel about a thousand times better.  Postive excuses also help motivate you, while negative excuses help you procastinate: putting off something that could change your life in ways you never realized. 

I'm still making excuses though. Today I had to do an interval run.  One minute fast, 1.5 minutes slow.  I HATE interval running.  Every time the lady's voice would ring out through my headphones and say, "One minute fast," in her sing-song voice, I'd think to myself, "Geez lady, I'm not a gazelle!"   Then when she would come on and say, "One minute thirty seconds slow," I'd think, "Is walking slow enough?  Can I just walk?"  I was making excuses to a recorded voice in my iPhone (thanks Mike--it's spelled correctly here!).  And that is so silly.  So I started making good excuses to myself, "The quicker I run, the quicker I can get home to my coffee, type my blog, and work a little bit on my novel."  That was my motivation, and it worked. 

For my interval workout today, I did 2.19 miles in 21 minutes 38 seconds for an average minute per mile of 9 minutes 54 seconds.  Not so bad, even though I did walk a little bit.  Next time I'll have to make a perfectly good excuse NOT to walk!

*Artwork found on Google.