[Rockchick26]

Originally Posted by wolfgang

excuses be gone.

This is the name of that program by Wayne Dyer, and when I saw it I was like, oh my God this is exactly what I need, this is the answer!! I wrote down every single excuse and every single replacement phrase you're supposed to say instead. I read them over and told myself to memorize them for when I needed them. And that's where it ended. I almost feel like I can be totally in the flow while I'm reading something or learning something but then when I set it down and get back to my daily routine, I can't incorporate anything new into that, it's like they're too seperate.

Imagination of what you want is part of the idea of going for something new. If you can imagine that it's possible, then it's more available to get into. But if it's over run by excuses, the imagination of what could be is really just a ball of "I can't" statements.

Well at first everything seems possible, until I start to actually get down to the details of planning it. I'll give a good example, for the last 3 days I've been researching that work exchange program where you can go live on an organic farm for up to 6 months for free just by helping them out 4-8 hours a day. It sounded perfect, you don't have to pay rent, you don't have to get a real job, you just have to do whatever they need you to do, and I have a strong interest in organic foods and traveling so this fit in with that perfectly. But then I started to wonder where I was going to get the money to GET to these places, and then I realized how bad my nephew would miss me and I would miss him (he's only 4 and he loves me, he's always asking if I can come over and play with him), and what would that do to him if his favorite (and only) aunt was never around anymore? I've always said that my desire to do these things is equally as strong as my need to keep my family and friends in my life (well, some family and some friends ) but then I'm kind of held prisoner by one of my own values. What do you do if two things you want almost equally mean that you have to give up the other in order to get one of them? And would it be worth it?

If you don't feel passion to practice, so what? That's an excuse.

This is one of the few legitimate excuses, I think...if someone doesn't have passion for something, they aren't going to make it appear out of thin air by forcing it. This is the reason why so many people are unhappy because they are forced to do things they don't feel excited about. That's how I felt for 18 years at my job and I dont want to live the rest of my life that way and I would tell anybody it's a perfect "excuse", not even an excuse at all in my book. If you don't feel passion for something, it isn't meant to be.

And don't tell me you don't know what you want. That is a favorite excuse of mine - you can't have that one!

If I've ever said "I don't know what I want", it always meant "I don't know what I want the most". It's because I have TOO many things I want. I've even added a few more to my list over the last 3 days! I probably have about 20 different lifestyles/plans/jobs that I want to do. This wouldn't be a problem at all if I have always had the same clear goal from the beginning. But how can you aim for a goal when you have 20 of them all floating around in your face demanding to know what your choice is, like there is a giant timer counting down and you have to pick one but you dont want to NOT pick any of them but you can't pick them all either!

It could be simple. It could there's no need to figure out a bunch of techniques and do the best IM you can. It almost seems like you need something that is simpler instead of more stuff to do. It could be more natural. It's possible.

Yeah I'm sure the answer is something simple, but my brain has always made everything complicated. As far back as I can remember, people have always told me, "You're making this more difficult than it is", or "This isn't as hard as you think". But I honestly don't know how to see it differently, I just naturally think of every little detail, I have a critical analytical detail-oriented mind. It's probably why I spent so many years drinking alcohol and smoking pot because those were the only times that part of my brain shut off and I was just allowed to enjoy myself and feel like everyone else always feels. I felt like a normal person. I dont do those things anymore though, because I value my health too much (and also don't have the money), so maybe that's why in the last few years I've been struggling more than ever.

Like I wanted to do push ups routine for a while. I had excuses to not do it. I'm tired. I just ate. I'll break a sweat. I already go a workout with yard work. I wasn't into doing them. I started wondering why I wanted to do it. Those were excuses. I did what I suggested here. I noticed these excuses. I mentally bowed at them and said I think I would rather spend 10 minutes actually doing the push ups than entertaining/beefing up all the excuses. It was a decision. I had to choose to not indulge the excuses. Well it lasted a while. I'm full of excuses again of some kind. But it can work and be a easy as a way to focus on a goal. Just nod to the habitual old stuff and do something new.

Those are the same excuses I make for not working out more than I should. But when you say "it lasted a while", that means they didn't work in the long run, and you lost your self discipline. My mind now is going right to that part and saying to me, "See, that didn't work, it isn't a magic cure." and I always figure if something isn't 100% then what's the point. If you know something will only work half the time, you would keep trying to find something that works ALL the time. Just like my goals, rather than choosing a goal that has a lot of flaws, it would be smarter to choose a goal that has no flaws (or at least as few as possible).