Lose the butt by losing the but…

My blog post had been brewing in my head for a few days now.  But I’ve been really busy. 

Did you see that?  I just made an excuse.  Was it a valid one?  Sure.  If I said I worked all weekend does that make it any more valid than if I sat on my butt all weekend?  Why is one better?  What if I *needed* to sit on my butt? 

So the whole “but” was brewing in my head.  We all come up with “buts” to avoid doing things.  Sometimes those things we’re avoiding we even like to do.  I love going for walks.  I love planning my meals.  I love cooking.  I love writing in this blog.   

If you had a dime for every time you said “but” in your day, how rich would you be? 

I did work all weekend.  Then there was football.  Today is two-job day.  And then I had a dinner date with my son.  But something happened today that made writing about the “but” more important.

Today I found out about a colleague that passed away.  I had lost touch with him over the years, but his impact on my life was powerful.  And he died way too young.  There was one time in our working together that he showed me his Daytimer and opened it up.  Inside on the left side was a taped piece of paper with about 8 people’s names and phone numbers on it.  These people were his go-to people.  I was one of them.  At the time I wasn’t flattered as it was causing me to work about 60-hour weeks.  We worked very together.  We got things done.  No excuses.

Except that work might have caused excuses for me to spend time with my family, to eat right, to work out, to cook.  I did gain a lot of weight during those years, but… oops – there’s that “but” again.

But he died.  And he died young.  And he worked and worked and worked.  And he was so successful in his endeavors.  At what cost?  How many “buts” did he have?  Or did he?  I was not involved in his life at all for the last dozen years so I really don’t know.  But whenever someone dies, it reminds us of our own mortality.

Very often we make excuses.  “But I didn’t have time to cook dinner.”  “But I was too tired to get up early and exercise.”  “But I was too lazy and wanted to stay in my pajamas all day.”  “But I was starving so I went to the drive through.”

Don’t let any “but” stop you.  Whatever “buts” you use can probably be eliminated.  What if you just eliminated that part of the sentence?  The word “but” introduces a part of the sentence that is not necessary and usually negative.  It actually prepares the listener for negative. 

“You look like you lost weight!”   “Thank you, but I’m no where near my goal.”   How about, “Thank you.”

“I wanted to work out this weekend, but I was too tired.”   How about, “I wanted to work out this weekend. I will later.”

Plan your meals.  Workout.  Cook yourself healthy meals.  Pack healthy snacks.  Get some good sleep.  Make being healthy convenient so you don’t have excuses.  Stop giving yourself reasons not to.  They’re excuses.  You don’t need them. 

Get off the couch.  Set the alarm.  Give yourself the GIFT of doing something good for you. 

We weaken ourselves when we use “but”.  Let’s strengthen ourselves.  Let’s lose the excuses. 

You choose.  Results or excuses.