New Year and Summer bikini ‘resolutions’ are hard to keep because they are too ambitious and disrupt your life so much. Making an excuse not to do something is very easy, it keeps you in your comfort zone, but did you know that excuses are pretty similar, we all use the same ones? There are generally 10 types of excuse that we use that stop us from changing behaviour, in this blog I’ve outlined the 10 main excuses you use to stop yourself from doing things. Perhaps you will recognise a few? What excuse do you use to justify why you can’t do something?
Replace ‘resolution’ with ‘habit’
Replace ‘resolution’ with ‘habit’ and your mission is instantly easier, easy ‘habits’ that you can incorporate gently into your daily life, something more subtle, less dramatic and yet very effective. Think of them as a mindset shift. If you missed that blog click here to read more
Dramatic, pressurised resolutions often lead to failure and can even cause long-term injuries both physical and mental:
– Leg injuries (and worse) from dramatic from a new type of exercise
– Diets that affect your hormone balance
– Food deprivation that affects your mood
– Feeling of being unworthy when you fail again
Whilst I fully appreciate that expectations and realistic goals can be out of balance, there does come a point when you could do something to change your life and yet….. your excuses abound.
When the New Year dust settles and you realise that your lofty ambitions aren’t going to be met, the excuses for why you failed, come up.
So how can you differentiate between a lofty, ambitious plan that was too hard to realise in the first place and when you are using a plain old excuse that you were never going to do anyway? You would probably be surprised to know that everyone falls into a familiar pattern of justifications. You use a similar reasoning for WHY you can’t do something, which excuse pattern do you use.
Recognise when you are making a plan and when you are making an excuse
Begin by recognising a plan vs an excuse which is this:
“Aunty Rose is coming around next week that is bound to disrupt my diet so I shall try again after she has left!”
Dear gorgeous girl, that is a plain old excuse!
Did you know that your excuses are easy to spot?
Once you know what type of excuse you use, you can recognise it and do something about it. Take a moment to consider why you do something, what is excuse default, for instance:
- What is your weight loss excuse?
- What excuse do you use on a daily basis to justify why you can’t do something, like getting fitter?
- When you are asked to help your best friend to put together a charity event, what is your brand of excuse?
Of course, some tasks are way out of your ability or comfort level so you can be excused the odd opt-out – like running a marathon. But what about those challenges or dreams that you have that you can absolutely do if you set your mind to it. If you spend the time and layout your dreams and think about what you really want from life then what is actually stopping you?
When your morning alarm goes off and you lie in bed listening to your own stream of thoughts or in my case babble, what is your inner dialogue saying? What excuse are you using to justify why you can’t get up and go for a walk in the rain? Your excuses are decaying your dreams.
I talk a lot about this in my best-selling book, Gorgeous! If you want to make nutritional changes but feel overwhelmed and confused by conflicting information and you’re left bewildered where to start then pick up a copy of Gorgeous!
Here are some common excuse threads, which one do you use?
1. “I Don’t Care”
I don’t care what anyone thinks I am very happy with the way I look. I don’t want to be skinny because people love me the way I am. Anyway if I was skinny it would be too much like hard work and I would never keep up, why should I even bother?
2. Passive excuse
Life is too difficult, my husband never supports me and always wants to go back to the old way we lived. If he doesn’t come on board with my new regime then I can’t stick to it. The changes I want to make are beyond my control, in fact, my entire life is beyond my control.
3. Genetic Excuse
I was born fat, I was born this way and I can’t behave any differently, my mum struggled with her weight and confidence her whole life and I am exactly the same. There is nothing I can do about it. I have the fat gene.
4. Victim Excuse
I can’t help it, everybody in my family eats crisps and chocolates. It is the way we relax, it is the way that the family come together and spend time with each other. Spending time eating crisps on the settee is our quality family time. I can’t change that, it is what my kids/husband expect.
The kids want biscuits in the house and if there are biscuits in the house I have no self-control I eat them.
5. I’m too busy
Do you use the excuse that you are so busy and so overwhelmed you haven’t got time to change your life. And yet there is that frustration that no one is helping you or appreciating you. Nobody is noticing how hard you have to work to make your life and your family life run smoothly.
Do you mope around and complain that nobody sees how hard you work? Maybe by moaning or silently putting up with the inequality it gives you opportunity to watch how people don’t appreciate you, which fills your ‘victim bucket’ right up
You could simply ask for help.
6. Everyone else Excuse
I have to drink all my mates do and I don’t want to miss out on FOMO
7. Past Precedent
I hear this excuse A LOT – I have tried so many times and nothing works. Diets have failed before, why should this one be different?
8. I’m messed up
I have had a screwed up childhood, my mum was never around and my dad drank too much. Nobody cared or looked after me and my brother so I turned to food.
9. Done enough
Sometimes this brand of excuse resonates a little harder than the rest, and it sounds like this “if you push me any further I will break.” Oh, that breaks my heart. I do understand that overwhelm, exhaustion and fatigue rule your life. The thing is when you sort out your nutrition, your exercise and turn off that nagging voice and you will OVERCOME overwhelm, exhaustion and fatigue. You will have the energy to have a loving relationship with Fred, your husband or Dotty, your daughter. You will have the mental energy to take on that overbearing boss at work and break through the cloud of brain fog. Once the penny drops and you realise that the only thing holding your amazing self back is YOU,
You are making excuses and shutting down doors. Once you understand that these comments are simply excuses then you will be free.
Don’t miss: How to avoid these painful mistakes when trying to lose weight
10. Nobody understands me
I don’t want to beat you up with a stick and say something arrogant like “Get the broom out of your arse and do something.” Although I am tempted 😉
But no I will have lost you then, that is simply me being a bigger version of your own inner critic here to beat you up. I appreciate that you are an individual, with personal anxieties, yet the more you know yourself the easier it is to make changes.
You know that ‘beating yourself’ up makes things worse. What I am asking is that you lift the veil, understand that you are making excuses and move forward with love and respect for your gorgeous body. Set up realistic steps forward, not desperate, dramatic steps forward.
I know a lot of Health Coaches take the stance ‘close the fridge’ it is all down to willpower. but to be honest that says more about them than you.
Be ‘excuse aware’
This exercise in ‘excuse awareness’ is all about realising that you are doing just that. Making excuses. making lame excuses to not live the life you have always wanted. You are holding yourself back by uttering…
“I will get that promotion when I have lost 6lbs”
I want you to take the time and understand that all this mind chatter is you making an excuse.
All of the thoughts going on in your head are excuses and I want you to know that you are SO MUCH better than this. You can be the best version of who you are meant to be. you can look smoking hot in a pair of expensive jeans and yes you bloody well can afford a good pair of jeans. You don’t have to spend everything you have on the cat!
Making unconscious excuses means that your life is on autopilot you can only have the freedom to be who you are meant to be and who you want to be when you first fully understand how you speak to yourself, what excuses you make and where you have come from.
Find out if you are making the same excuse every time and find out which type of excuse you favour? And let me know in the comment box below, you know I am interested and inquisitive
(not nosey, inquisitive!)
So ACT:
- ACCEPT that change takes time
- COMMIT to stop making excuses
- TAKE ACTION and ask for help, if you don’t act you won’t change.
The Gentle Reset – 6 weeks reset your mind and detox your body
If you’re not feeling great, full of vitality and hitting your weight goals then you’ve probably had a few glaring gaps……so with that in mind, I’d like to invite you to work with me inside my membership community on The Gentle Reset.
Each time this programme opens it is only open to 10 new enrolments and I’d love you to be a part of it
Working with me inside the membership, I’ll help you identify the bad habits that are accruing, then give you the resources you need to add in some great habits using coaching, video tutorials, cheat sheets, exercise videos, group coaching, and the all-important buddy-up, supportive motivation.
And you get the opportunity to pick my brain and get personal feedback on your nutrition every single week in our group coaching session. My Group Coaching programme is based on a 6 weeks course that will focus on your health and wellbeing. Inside the 6 weeks: The Gentle Reset you will be able to reset your mind and detox your body and be provided with the support you need to get a healthy lifestyle in place.
A big part of that means that you will have nourishing eating habits that will give you more energy and more motivation as well as the appropriate levels of exercise.
Join here: The 6 weeks Gentle Reset
If you know that you are looking to improve your nutrition and nourish your body by adding in great nutritional and exercise habits that will not lead to burnout instead you will feel energised and vital so that you can take on all those ‘life’ tasks that previously you found so draining.
Or you are looking to increase your mental agility, enhance your creativity and problem-solving abilities. to tackle the next stage in your career and life then jump into the Group Programme
What sort of results can you expect?
Here are a few examples of what my clients have achieved so far:
Marketing business owner Charlotte is frank: “Your support, great advice, laughter and tough love have changed my approach to food…as a busy mum of 2 teenagers and consumer brand marketer & business owner, I’ve changed my entire approach to food and prioritising my own health” Read more about Charlotte’s journey here
Busy mum and school teacher Catherine retrained as a primary school teacher with 3 boys and a large extended family meant that Catherine and little time to focus on herself, let alone her health. Her trigger came when her workload and home balance became too much. Her health was suffering. Find out more about Catherine’s story and others click here: success stories click here
How much does it cost?
Your investment is currently £415 but this is for a limited time, the price will be increasing soon. Any new enrolments after 18th January will be £450 – click here to grab the best possible price
BE QUICK this programme, along with all my programmes will be increasing in price very soon > Click here to find out why I am raising my prices But you’ll also discover how you can grab a place before my prices go up, but you will need to be fast.
Gorgeous is your journey of discovery
PS. If you have read enough and you know that this is for you, and you are ready to discover the next stage of your journey – then click here to join my next round before the prices rise
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