Excuses are BS!

Making excuses is a bunch of bull$&#% BS. But you know what? I would be lying if I said that I never make excuses. I make excuses all the time when it comes to my health, choice of foods, and constructing my time. Oh, I am bad with time......I really need to find a way to correct that, and you know what excuse I use when my time is on the line? I don't have a smart phone. Yup, I am going to blame technology. Makes me look good anyway, right? WRONG! How many of you use that same excuse when you have made a commitment and don't really want to fulfill it? It's technology's fault.

"If I had a smart phone I would be able to schedule my time, appointments, work load, and even food intake. I'm sure there is an app for that....."

If you think about it, excuses were being made since the beginning of time. Excuses go all the way back to the Garden of Eden. God asked Adam if he had eaten of the tree he was commanded not to, Adam created the world's very first excuse, "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 gave the world's second excuse, "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat" (Genesis 3:13).

Excuses negate responsibility, and it is responsibility that separates man from the rest of the world. We are responsible not for what we have, but for what we could have; not for what we are, but for what we could become. Trying to hide our failures with excuses is like hiding a small hole in our clothes with a large patch; the patch is clearly noticeable, draws attention, and only makes matters worse.

Benjamin Franklin once said, "He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else."

And Shakespeare: "And oftentimes, excusing of a fault,

Doth make a fault the worse by the excuse;

As patches set upon a little breach,

Discredit more in hiding of the fault,

Than did the fault before it was so patch'd"

Excuses are harmful because they forbid one from succeeding.

If we discipline ourselves to NOT make excuses and compassionately hug responsibility, we will harvest many rewards. What are the successes of NOT making excuses? We build a strong foundation of self-respect, pride, and confidence. Responsibility grows competence and power. By fulfilling our promises and obligations, we win the trust and respect of others. Excuses are the brake pads of progress.

Food intake and choices seem to be a tough responsibility for some people to deal with. One of my pet peeves is when someone says, "I can't eat healthy because it is so expensive", or "I am on a fixed income so I can't afford to buy healthy foods." Now, to me, that is BS..... an excuse....a large patch.... There might as well be a sticker on your forehead that says "I am a failure and I hide behind my excuses".

I am attending a health and fitness class at school. My excuse for being overweight is, "I have a hard time keeping a schedule." .....BS.....FAILURE.....LARGE PATCH.....LACK OF RESPONSIBILITY.....STICKER ON MY FOREHEAD......

I would do so much better if I had a schedule trainer follow me around constantly saying, "It is now time to eat fruit, it is now time to run on the elliptical, it is now time to go for a walk, it is now time to do homework, it is now time to do volunteer work, it is now time to eat a healthy dinner, it is now time to spend with family, it is now time to sleep"......and so on.... I know I would be able to make it work if I had a trainer. Bull$&#%!! BS!! I need to take responsibility and create my own structured schedule. AND STICK TO IT!

But anyway, back to the pet peeve of not being able to eat healthy. Every single grocery store runs a sale ad. That is how they get customers into their store. And their sale items consist of sales out of every department (produce, meats, frozen foods, dairy, etc...). This is how I fulfill my needs of eating healthy: I work from the sale ad only. Sure I may not be hungry for the items that are on sale, but I adjust. I adjust to the foods, I don't let the foods adjust me. And something else that restricts people from eating healthy, the time it takes to cook or prepare meals. Quick-fix foods are so much easier and faster.....or is that an excuse?

I was at the grocery store just yesterday and bought cabbage, grapes, avocados, celery, lean pork products, and some raviolis (for the daughter) for less than $65.00. I bought enough healthy food to feed us (3) for a week. Less than $65.00 cannot be met on a fixed income? If you want to make it happen, you will find a way (responsibility).

I ran across a list of "how to stop making excuses and start building a life", and there is a cute little garden that goes along with it.

1. Realize that your success or failure depends on you. The choices you make will strengthen your attitude. Don't spend so much time on creating an excuse, spend that time creating responsibility for yourself.

2. Beware of rationalization. Sometimes we create excuses to hide the behavior we are ashamed of (being overweight). You can fight rationalization by creating a list to strengthen your weaknesses. An, "I am not going to do this anymore list", and check them off as you complete them. Before you know it, you won't need that list anymore because your changes will become habit. Instead of heading to the freezer section of the grocery store, spend about 30 minutes in the produce department. Discipline yourself!

3. From time to time, stop and examine your progress. Set goals for yourself. Make a list of goals, say for a week or a month, complete those goals and review them. Maybe at the end of a week or month you can increase the goals. Even if it takes baby steps, goals are good.

My goals that I created for myself are, 1. eating breakfast every day. I'm not a breakfast eater, but breakfast is the most important meal of the day, whether it be 1 egg, a sugar free muffin, or a small bowl of cereal. 2. I am also running (walking) 20 minutes a day on the elliptical. I plan on increasing that after a month. Baby steps.....

4. When you make a mistake, accept responsibility. Learn from that mistake, get back on that horse, and don't repeat it. Use your time wisely, discover solutions instead of inventing excuses.

5. Plant your garden of success! Start today!

First, plant 3 rows of peas;
Patience
Positive thinking
Persistence

Next, plant 3 rows of squash;
Squash excuses
Squash blame
Squash criticism

Then, plant 3 rows of lettuce;
Let us be responsible
Let us be trustworthy
Let us be ambitious

Finish, with 3 rows of turnip;
Turn up when needed
Turn up with a smile
Turn up with confidence

Are you going to plant your garden today?