Are you failing to meet your goals because of a long list of excuses? This one simple mental adjustment will help you to banish excuses and accomplish your goals. Excuses, Excuses
My Exercise Excuse Script Laura to self: I need to go jogging. Internal Excuse Maker: Experts say you only have to do that 3-4 times a week in order to see results. Do it tomorrow. Laura: You said that yesterday, and the day before. I'm running out of days in the week. IEM: Well, it's looking kind of overcast out there. It might rain. And you wear glasses without windshield wipers, so when it rains, you can't see. What if you step in a pothole? You have children to care for. You shouldn't do that to your family. Better stay home today. Laura: Yes, I have children to care for and I want to be alive to see them grow up, so I'd better go today. IEM: Speaking of which, they are probably going to wake up from their nap any minute. You probably don't have time to go jogging. Laura: Well, then, I'd better go now, huh? IEM: Remember the dog? He followed you up the street the last time, barking ferociously. You were terrified and if that nice man hadn't chased him off, you might be in the hospital right now recovering from rabies shots. Laura: But maybe he won't be there today. Maybe I can carry a stick. IEM: That will look cool. Go ahead. Do that. And then those construction workers will really stare when you jog past. Laura: I'll take a different route to avoid the construction site. IEM: Oh, and don't forget: your shoes are at the repair man, getting glued back together because they are five years old and falling apart. Laura: Aack! I forgot about that. IEM: So, see, you can't go. Told you so. It's called ego depletion. After arguing long enough with your Internal Excuse Maker, you run out of mental energy to make the right choice (exercise) and decide instead to raid the freezer for a Dove Dark Chocolate Bar and drink a coffee or two. At least that's what happens to me. My No Excuse PolicySomething had to give, if I was ever going to succeed at my exercise goal. So I decided I would turn the excuse script off. Instead of listening to my obnoxious Internal Excuse Maker, I instituted a personal No Excuse Policy. I decided that I would not tolerate ANY excuses at all when it comes to exercise. With my new policy, the Exercise Excuse Script doesn't even start running. You and I both know which excuses truly are valid. All the rest are just a version of the "lion in the street" and should be sternly banned. What are your goals for this year? Did you want to read through your Bible in a year, start a new exercise program, pay down a debt, or finally pursue a long-standing dream of yours? More importantly, what spiritual task has God asked you to do for His kingdom that you haven't even started doing yet because of your Internal Excuse Maker? Are you allowing your Internal Excuse Maker to run roughshod over you? Or have you found a way to turn off the Excuse Script? Maybe you--like me--need a No Excuse Policy. My new policy has enabled me to exercise six days a week (except when truly valid excuses come up, like sickness), and now exercising has become something I actually look forward to every day. Imagine if succeeding at your goals became that fun? Oh, and by the way, that day that my shoes were in the shop? I borrowed my son's sneakers. They fit great and are much newer and cushier than mine. My IEM flipped out, but I jogged on air, not pavement, that day. Try this one simple thing. Institute a No Excuse Policy for just one of your goals today. Silence your IEM and start jogging on air. PS--If you haven't yet formed a habit of reading the Word of God daily, may I personally encourage you to make that area your first venture into a No Excuse Policy? You will be amazed, as I have been, by the way the Lord personalizes your Bible reading to the challenges you face throughout your day.
Ephesians 5:22-33 describes the beauty of modeling Christ through marriage.
If you are like many people, you made a list of New Year's Resolutions at the beginning of January. How's that going? Many of our resolutions are doomed to fail. 88%, in fact, if Wikipedia is correct. We can try really hard to come up with ways to succeed . . .
All of these things can help. But there one thing you cannot accomplish goals without: discipline. I can have all the desire in the world to complete a marathon, but unless I lace up my sneakers and actually hit the jogging trail, I'm doomed to failure. You may desire a healthy body, but unless you exercise faithfully and eat properly, you are doomed to failure. Discipline, not desire, determines destiny.* My husband says that often. But he doesn't just talk it; he walks it. I should know. . . I live with the man. Discipline gets him up in the morning to read his Bible. Daily. Discipline aids him in reading the Bible aloud to his family every morning at breakfast. Discipline sits him at his desk in a pool of tropical sweat so he can study for sermons and classes. Discipline requires him to reject fried chicken and eat its bland counterparts instead. Discipline allows him to sigh instead of rant when a careless child breaks a window pane. Discipline. Discipline. Discipline. I tilt my head to one side and watch him. I was not born a naturally self-disciplined person. So I observe and learn from him. Since being married to him I have radically increased in my own self-discipline. This is all the Lord, actually. All grace. But I am amazed at what the example of one man has done in my life. And my children's lives. Because they are watching us, those little people that cling to our skirts and wipe their runny noses on our suit coats. They watch us and learn. From some of us they learn that church attendance is negotiable and that the Bible is the book to search for and dust off on a Sunday go-to-meeting morning. From some of us, I hope, they learn that the Bible is the treasure of our lives. To be delved into and lived by. To swim in and to drink up. Maybe you have a goal to read your Bible this year. Maybe you want to read it all the way through. Or maybe your goal is just to read it daily. Maybe you have already failed in your goal, not because of a lack of desire, but because of a lack of discipline. Well, get up. Dust off your knees. A just man falleth seven times and riseth up again. (Proverbs 24:16) So don't stay where you fell. Rise up again. Start fresh. Today is a new day. So it's a new chance. God's mercies are new every morning. And all around you, there are people watching and learning from you. So live a lifestyle of discipline. Because discipline--not desire--determines destiny. Other helps on this topic: Do you need a Bible Reading Plan? It's not too late for you to read through your Bible this year! If that is one of your goals, don't give up. Try out one of these six Bible reading plans. Have you made goals for this year? If not, it's never too late to make some. These goal planning worksheets can help you in your endeavor. Are you determined to follow through on your resolutions or goals for this year? Read this article by Michael Hyatt on How To Make New Year's Resolutions Stick. *It is often hard to nail down the origin of quotes. I don't know who said this first, but he was wise.
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Tim and LauraTimothy and Laura Berrey are missionaries with Gospel Fellowship Association. They share a passion for missions which has taken them to several countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe. They currently minister in the Philippines. Want articles like this delivered to your inbox?
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