let go of excuses

You know what we humans are really good at.

Excuses.

At any given time we can convince ourselves that we are too tired, too busy, too fat, too skinny

Too short, too tall, too broke, too young, too old, too cold, or too hot-

To do anything, go anywhere or be anyone.

I know this because I, too, am a human.

There will always be an excuse just waiting in the shadows- like a sly little crook leaning against the corner of a building under a street lamp, smoking a cigarette and flipping a coin. Watching you. Total creeps!

Unfortunately, they don’t look like this to us.

Excuses are disguised as our friend. And a good friend! One who will let us off the hook, cut us some slack. They are always around when we need them & they tell us that we are fine just the way we are.

This makes them extra sneaky.

Because, duh, of course we’re fine the way we are. Sure.

But- are we? Are we fine sitting on our couch in our pajamas eating a bag of chips aimlessly scrolling on our phones. Sometimes it’s fine, sure. I love a good chip and cats on the internet. But are we fine working our asses off and still not living the life we want? Are we fine being stressed more than not or tired more than not or just bored and uninspired more than not?

Being “fine” convinces us that it’s ok to not live our best lives or work to be our best selves.

Excuses and fine are not your friend.

They are manipulative jerks that are robbing us of joy and they are alarmingly good at it.

Because when you envision your best self.

What does it look like?

Seriously. Take a moment. I’ll hold.

Are you fine? No. Fuck that. If your gunna envision your best self you’re not gunna be like, oh I see myself as fine. No.

You’re healthy. You’re financially comfortable. The work you do is meaningful & rewarding. You have time for the things in your life that you love like family or traveling or learning to rollerblade or participating in a civil war reenactment- I don’t know. Who Cares? It’s your best self! Get crazy!

Here’s the thing- Excuses and being fine are also fear based.

They are scared you’ll start seeing through them, identifying them. One by one, you’ll stop them before they can rob you of your joy, your potential, your best self, your best life.

So it comes down to this little truth nugget.

Admit when you’re looking for an excuse or are settling for fine. Identify it.

The better you get at this the less effect they have on you.

Then you gotta suck it up and do the work.

Even when you don’t want to.

Especially when you don’t want to.

Instead of finding an excuse you find a habit. Maybe you walk around your block 5 days a week, drink a bottle of water first thing in the morning everyday, save some money, go rollerblading! Sign up for a class and then show up for it.

Eventually, (be patient with the eventually part) what you envisioned as your best self starts to come into focus and you realize how freakin awesome it is and how capable you are.

All of a sudden you’re like, damn, what else can I do, who else can I become?

And when asked how you are, you won’t be fine.

You’ll be fan-fucking-tastic.