No Excuses. Stay Committed. PERIOD!

No Excuses. Stay Committed. PERIOD!

With a new year often come new goals. Or perhaps old ones that you are resurrecting because you didn't accomplish them in full the way you had intended. Once you decide what your goals are you need to commit to achieving them.  You can’t have a lackadaisical attitude about your goals or you'll just end up putting them on next year’s list again.  Eventually frustration sets in & you may give up entirely even though it’s something you really do want to achieve.

If you know me then you know that I LOVE to make lists.  I’d go as far as to say it makes me happy to make a list but it brings me JOY to cross things off that list. Are you a crazy list lover like me?  A great way to get to cross those things off my list is to have a plan for each goal that I set.  Now I know I’m not the only one that struggles with stuff like this because I talk to a lot of people & so many have told me that it’s hard to reach those goals. I want to reach my goals but I don’t want to do it alone. I want to help others achieve their goals too.  So let’s be committed together & have a plan so that when something besides our plan happens, we can stay on track or we can get back on track quickly without beating ourselves up.

I’m gonna share what happened this morning in my house.  Now please don’t read into this & think that I’m telling you that I’m better than you or that you stink at making a hard choice when things don’t go as planned. That might be what you ‘hear’ but that’s not remotely close to what I’m saying.  If you are a parent I’m sure this has happened at some point to you, probably even more than once.  

With the New Year, a clean slate, I recommitted to exercising 5 days a week. I’m currently on day 6 of Les Mills Combat. My initial plan was to wake at 6:30am, get contacts in & get dressed & get as much of my workout done by 7am when I have to stop to get my school aged kids ready for school.  The middle 2 get on the bus at 8:10, the oldest gets picked up at 8:30 so when those 3 are gone I finish whatever is left of my workout.  This might not be ‘ideal’ for a workout but one of my new things is to remind myself that “Some beats none.”

The first morning I had about 20 minutes left after getting the kids off to school.  By yesterday, I worked my way to only having about 10 minutes to finish after they all left.  I was improving with waking up earlier so I could get more done before the kids were up.  Now remember, I also have a 9 month old & whatever she decides her schedule is for the ‘moment’, that’s what I kind of go with.

This morning was one of those unplanned mornings.  I woke up to #1 telling me that #3 needed me.  Of course I jumped out of bed thinking that she was throwing up or something.  (After all the flu is going around like crazy & with them being back in school….well….)  I hate cleaning up ‘that stuff’.  I used to have a daycare & now we've got 4 kids of our own so I've had my share of it.  Thankfully it wasn't the flu. Instead, Morgan’s neck had a terrible kink in it & she was crying & told me she couldn't move her head at all.  I grabbed the heat pad & tried to make her comfy so she could rest a bit longer. The clock now said something like 6:20 & I knew I had a choice; I could try to fit my workout in later or do it now. But let’s be honest, I've found that if I don’t do my workout in the morning, the chances of it happening are extremely low…almost nonexistent.  SO I sucked it up. I reminded myself that I was committed to my routine, I have a plan. I headed down to ‘Press Play’. I tried to hit play in the SuperGym too but the internet was giving me trouble. I fussed with it for a bit when a glance at the clock told me that it was decision time.  Do I make reasons excuses that I just couldn't overcome the obstacles or just do it?  I laced up my shoes, got my DVD out, TV set up & pressed play.  Great job Jeannette, you overcame a rough morning. Big smile on my face as I punched & kicked with the Combat team…. But that's not the end of the obstacles.

Oh no!  Now I could hear the baby crying.  Sheesh!  Are you kidding me?  Pause.  Run up the stairs. Hold baby & feed her till she drifts off to sleep again. Put her in the crib.  Now it’s even later.  I've got about 10 minutes & I have to wake the kids & still deal with Morgan’s neck & knowing she’s not going to be able to do much to get ready on her own.  Back downstairs I press play again. Whew! 10 minutes more & time to press pause again.  Woke kids up, called to schedule Morgan to see the chiropractor, helped the kids with breakfast, made lunches, etc.  Since Morgan’s appointment was for 8:30 & school is at 8:45, I had another decision to make. Should I try to squeeze the rest of my workout in or wait until after 9 when I’d get back from dropping Morgan at school?  I decided that since Braly & Gabby are old enough & pretty good at getting themselves ready for their rides on time, I needed to press play again so I could finish.  Instead of making excuses, I stayed committed & finished my Combat workout.

What a morning right?  Sound familiar?  Even when you plan & have things set out, plans can change. Circumstances happen.  Have YOU ever have one of those days?  I can honestly say that I don’t regret pressing play. In fact, I feel as though I earned a gold star for the day & I want you to have that same feeling.  Once you decide on your goals, no matter what area in your life it is, finances, exercise, eating healthy, growing your faith, etc. commit to those goals & don’t let anything get in your way. Do your best to make it happen.  Yes, sometimes ‘life happens’ but if you are committed you can get back on track a lot quicker than if you aren't committed.  Don’t let those thoughts in your head make you feel bad, put it behind you & move forward, accept it for the slip-up that it was & move on to reach your goals from now on. No excuses. Stay committed. Period!

Questions: I’d love to hear from you!  What are your goals? What is your plan to reach your goals?  Are you committed no matter what?