What’s your excuse?

We all want to work out. We all want to be healthy…at least most of us do. Some CHOOSE to be unhealthy. But the truth is that many people find excuses to not work out and eat healthy. Let me list some….I’m busy, I’ve got a family, I work too much, I have injuries, I have back pain, I have a thyroid condition and can’t loose weight, I’m too tired, eating healthy is expensive, eating healthy is hard, I feel too fat to go to the gym…the list goes on and on. I had excuses. I have hashimotos hypothyroidism. I have bulging and herniated discs, disc degeneration, SI joint dysfunction, narrowing of the spinal canal, and a nasty genetic condition called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. I have 4 kids. But let’s not talk about me. In this post I am going to talk about a friend of mine. He has the biggest excuse in the world to not go to the gym. He has terminal pancreatic cancer. He is fighting a battle for his life. But here he is, in the gym, working out, flushing toxins and trying to recover from his last round of chemotherapy. He is at the gym every day. He is also eating healthier than ever before. He goes to the gym to feel better, and for emotional therapy. The gym feels like home to him. Every day that I see him he asks me “whats wrong, whatever it is, fix it, and fix it now!” He makes all my problems seem small. He makes me realize that I waste too much of my life worrying about things that are a waste of time. He makes me realize I am letting unfavorable situations control me.

Only we can control how we feel, and how we react to any given situation. Only we can control our happiness. It is no ones responsibility but our own. Only we control what we decide to eat. Only we can ditch the excuses and get our butts into gear!!! So what is your excuse? He has the most legitimate excuse in the world to skip the gym, yet here he is. Author Tim Cordova interviewed him and his son for a book and documentary series called ‘Real Fears and False Sciences’. I will post the documentary here when it is finished….because we all need to see how a positive attitude can keep a person going through the toughest times. We need to see how people choose to NOT make excuses and why.  If you find the right gym, your time there will become the way you deal with stress, the way you unload. It will become like family. It will be your second home. Trust me on this one. I’ve entered the gym angry and left feeling mentally refreshed. Exercise releases dopamine in the brain, a chemical that plays a role in happiness. I love my gym. I love the people there. I love that I am surrounded by positive people who care about their health. So stop making excuses to skip the gym and eat that fast food and start finding reasons to love yourself, love your life, and be the best you that you can possibly be.