Tag Archives: excuses

What’s holding you back?

Posted by Shelli Martineau in The Year of No Fear and tagged with , , , , ,

So, I was at a party last weekend and some friends told me all about how they bought bikes and signed up for the STP (Seattle to Portland Bike Classic). I was honestly taken aback (and was also pretty sure they were high from running marathons) when they asked if I’d train with them and join them for the STP.

I tried explaining just how intense that ride must be (I’ve never done anything close to 50 miles let alone 202), but they were so determined that listening to them got me excited and motivated.

Long story short, I’m seriously considering it. ;)

Of course, now I’ve got a million questions about the whole thing, so I’ve been asking around the web for advice. One thing I’ve run into a few times now is,

“I’ve always wanted to do the STP”

“That one has been on my list for years”

“I was gonna do that, but…”

I’m honestly a little surprised by the high number of “I’ve almost done thats” I’ve encountered with regards to the STP. It got me wondering:

What’s holding you back?

…and this question isn’t just for those considering the STP. It’s for everyone. Are you thinking about running a marathon? Planning to join the gym? Wondering about Yoga?

What’s stopping you?

Time?

Time can be a friend or an enemy based on how you view it. It can be something that steals away your passions and your goals, something you race hoping to someday beat, or something you embrace with the knowledge that it’s the one thing you have worth spending.

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Money?

You don’t need money to start. Period. If you want it badly enough, you’ll get what you need.

Don’t know what to do?

You have everything you need to start right now! The rest is just research, asking questions, and trial and hour.

Afraid of failure? Comparing yourself to others? Have other commitments?
I ask again –

What’s holding you back?

Tell us what you need

Posted by Shelli Martineau in Things I've Learned and tagged with , , , , , ,

When I was training with a group of my peers to become a junior camp counselor, part of our education was learning to address something about ourselves that we needed to grow or improve. After all, our goal was to help campers grow as people, so we had to show we could do what we asked of them. My area of improvement was asking for help. You see, I am terrible at it.

I just refused to do it. I didn’t want anyone to see me suffer or sweat or struggle or not know the answer. So, as our training went on, whenever I landed in a bit of trouble, my counselors would offer words of encouragement by simply saying, “tell us what you need…”

This really annoyed me at first because I just knew I could do everything all on my own. So, I focused on being like a duck: Smooth and calm above the surface, and paddling like hell underneath.

Yeah, we all know how this turns out.

Trying to solve every problem for yourself only works for so long. Eventually, everyone needs help, and I found this out the hard way: working really hard knowing I could do it all on my own until something gave and I broke down in tears.

“Tell us what you need” soon became a mantra for our whole group to repeat as we all became involved in helping each other with our areas of improvement. It was even emblazoned on the back of the t-shirt I decorated to commemorate the end of the summer with my new-found group of friends.

My old camp shirt. It’s covered with positive messages and affirmations

Eventually, with my groups help, I warmed to the idea of asking for help. I saw my pattern and I learned to adjust.

Now, knowing this is one of my patterns, I’ve tried to set up my life in such a way that help is always on hand – even when I ask for it in a roundabout way.

For instance, on Tuesday I had planned for the entire day to skip yoga. I knew I would feel much better if I went, but I was being stubborn and digging in my heels.

“Meh, I think I’ll sit this one out…… I don’t feel like it.”

But, after a long and stressful day, I confessed my plan to a friend who has been helping me with my weight loss journey and they encouraged me to head out the door. All I needed was the slightest push to change my plan for the entire day.

It may seem silly that asking for help comes difficult to me, but I know I’m not the only one who struggles with this.

Have you ever struggled with asking for help? 

It’s not fair.

Posted by Shelli Martineau in Things I've Learned and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

You……

work harder than everyone else.
eat salad when everyone else has pizza. Every single weekend.
were born with these genes.
have to stay vigilant in order to make changes.
don’t have time to exercise.
weren’t educated about health.
*r spouse sleeps in.
*r friends can eat what they like.
lose weight so much slower than everyone else.
gain weight too easily.
can’t gain weight.
have to watch what you eat.
have a job where you sit all day.
are so overweight exercise is especially difficult for you.
weren’t brought up in a healthy household.
have to try at health every single day.

You’re right, it’s not fair.

So, what are you going to do about it?

You are not too busy to workout

Posted by Shelli Martineau in Exercise, Love Thyself, Things I've Learned and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

One of the most common excuses for not working out is “I’m too busy.”

I do it too.  There are moments when I’m overwhelmed with work, taking lots of calls, writing emails, trying to coordinate my schedule with clients and my alarm is buzzing for me to go to the gym…… I stop and think, “How can I possibly go to the gym when I’m this busy?!“…. or…. “If I just skip yoga this morning I’ll be able to catch up with work quicker and then I’ll feel better!“

I caught my mom doing it too. I called her to remind her of our walking group a few weeks ago,

” I can’t tonight. There’s no way — I’m too busy — I haven’t had dinner… I have hours of work left….”

She fired off excuse after excuse. She was really busy and super stressed and I felt for her. I’ve been there. We all have. So, of course, I nudged her,

“Doesn’t that mean you should be walking with us tonight? It will melt away your stress. Give your brain a chance to rest too!”

It took a little convincing on my part, and I’m pretty sure she was peeved that I insisted, but she came around and joined us for walking group. I was beyond proud. I have no doubt she felt she made the right decision. Well, I hope she did.

As for me, I’m getting much better at ignoring the voice in my head that resists exercise. They say it takes 30 days to build a habit and, yeah, that’s true…. but no one ever tells you what it takes to persevere and keep the habit or what it takes to truly love the habit and make it a part of you that you’d never dream of giving up. It takes time and energy to do something that monumental. Especially if you had previously been fighting it for your whole life.

… and I had definitely been fighting the need for exercise for a long, long time.

Lastly, I’d like to leave you with this little tidbit about Gandhi I read this morning. It’s, of course, brilliant, and just one testament to his strength and character. Obviously, Ghandhi was a busy guy, but:

One time Gandhi said to a group of his backers, “I need to set aside one hour a day to do meditation.”

One of the backers said, “oh no, you can’t do that! You are too busy, Gandhi!”

Gandhi said, “Well, then, I now need to set aside two hours a day to do meditation.”

As James Altrucher says in his post, “If he was, in fact too busy, then it meant he was not devoting enough time to his spiritual life. “

The same is true for you, my friends. If you are too busy for your health you are clearly not devoting enough time to yourself. 

 

Do you agree? Disagree? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Comment here or tweet me!

Screw the resistance

Posted by Shelli Martineau in The Year of No Fear and tagged with , , , , , , ,

So, I love Seth Godin.

I have this crazy social media marketing crush on him. He’s a mega genius with a writing style I love (simple, direct, uncluttered). I’ve been listening to Seth’s book, Linchpin, on audiobook while I walk in the mornings and ride my bike to and from the gym and he talks a lot about the “lizard brain” or as Steven Pressfield describes it, the “resistance.”

The resistance is that little voice in your head that causes you to doubt, to stumble, to use the “old way” of doing things and to take the easy, safe path.

I, of course, immediately related this to weight loss and my year of no fear.

The resistance wants you to:

  • Comfort yourself with food
  • Eat highly caloric food
  • Stay in bed
  • Take it easy
  • Skip the gym
  • Stay home
  • Make excuses
  • Avoid new and scary experiences
  • Compare yourself to others
  • Compete in an unhealthy way

and do what you’ve always done.

Screw. The.  Resistance.

Be brave. Be daring. Try things that scare you. If you’re scared – you’re doing it right. Hold yourself accountable. Walk that extra mile. Get out of bed, even when it’s raining. Compete with yourself.

Be amazing.