I’m not really one for New Years resolutions. Don’t get me wrong. I think they are great and I support anyone who wants to better their life. But for me, there’s nothing about starting something come January 1st that gives me an extra kick in the pants. Ya know?
So when I’m writing this, it’s actually December 2nd. Yep. We haven’t even gotten to the final days of 2018 yet. If I’m totally honest, I’ve already started on my resolution. It’s a resolution I’ve never made before. And it’s the one I plan to build my life around in 2019. Are you ready? I resolve in 2019 to stop making excuses. Or as I like to remind myself every hour in simple terms: NO EXCUSES.
WHY THIS RESOLUTION?
I’m not sure if I can pin point the exact thoughts that led to this resolution. Most likely, it’s the accumulation of a couple of small changes and moments over the last few months. But the question “what would happen if I stopped making excuses?” is what sparked the idea.
If you took an honest look at your life, what are the things you really want but don’t have? What goals have you yet to achieve? What things do you wish would make it all better? Then ask yourself, what am I actually going to get there? Here’s the moment the no excuses clicked in.
WHY NOW?
Every since I started reading and praying the Prayer of Jabez*, I’ve been thinking about blessings. Bruce Wilkinson talks about all these blessings God wants to bestow upon us but we don’t ask for them. But why aren’t we asking? He reminds us that God wants to bless us despite our many excuses and reasonings. We just have to ask.
So that’s what I decided to do. I decided to ask. Instead of clinging to the excuses that were “keeping me safe” and the thoughts that I don’t deserve them, I decided to ask God to bless me. And along the way, the idea of ditching the excuses was born.
WHAT DO I EXPECT TO CHANGE?
I have no idea but once the idea hit, I couldn’t let go. What if every time I found a reason thought I needed to do something, I actually went through with it? What if I got honest with myself about things? What in my life would change if I stopped hiding behind the excuses I tell myself and others for why I’m doing something?
I’ve learned more about myself in the last week than I can remember learning in ages. I’m not lying to myself anymore. No excuses doesn’t mean I say well I just don’t want to work out today and leave it at that. It means I say yeah, I’m not feeling it but I do it anyways. I’m getting to know what I want in a way I haven’t in so long.
SO WHAT NOW?
The older I get, the more I get comfortable with myself. I’ve learned my body, my preferences and my habits. But it’s been a while since I’ve sat down with my dreams. No excuses has changed my thinking in ways I never imagined. I don’t want to lie to myself anymore. I want to be a person of my word. And I don’t want to spend my life wishing for things to happen instead of making them happen.
So instead of making lots of resolutions for 2019, I’m making the one I hope will change my life. No excuses. It’s like ditching the “but” part of a sentence. I want to do xyz but. . . no excuses. Let’s make this year the year we stop letting ourselves hide. We are more than our excuses, our flaws and what the world tells us we should be. Don’t let another year go by where you are the thing holding yourself back. Remember, no excuses.
SHOP THE POST
