“I don’t have time to exercise”
I sometimes find myself using this excuse to skip a workout, and I'm sure you have too. But that’s all it is, it’s an excuse. It’s a lie we keep telling ourselves to stay in our comfort zone.
When you ask someone how their day is going, what is one of the most common responses you hear? “Good thanks, busy.”. Everyone is busy. Life these days, is legitimately full on. You have to juggle your career, relationships, family, kids and hobbies. Then all of a sudden it’s the New Year again and you make another promise to get back into shape.
Chances are, your life will not become less busy any time soon. So how do we get more hours in the day to fit in that much needed exercise? You have to prioritize your health and fitness. You have to decide what is more important to you.
Is it more important for you to get that extra hour of sleep in the morning? Or is it more important for you to have a body in which you feel proud and confident? Is it more important for you to go out for drinks with your colleagues after work? Or is it more important that you can keep up with your kids on the weekend and be the healthy and fit role model they deserve?
And hey, if you take a good look at yourself and say no “staying at home and watching Netflix with my loved one is more important to me than my health”, great! But then don’t look in the mirror and be unhappy with what you see. Don’t get upset when you get out of breath climbing up stairs. You made your choice, you decided what was more important, so be happy with that. And I genuinely mean that.
I can’t tell you what is more important in your life, only you know that. But if you want to live a healthy, happy, pain-free life full of adventure and experience, then it is time to prioritize your workouts.
Have you ever heard the expression “Anything worth having, is worth fighting for”? This goes for your health and fitness too. Ultimately, if you want something bad enough, you will make time to get it done. That’s why I urge you to explore and determine exactly what it is that is important to you. Because once you have an honest answer, then it is easy to prioritize your health and fitness. A lack of time no longer becomes an excuse because you know what you want and you’re willing to do what it takes to get there.
So if you find yourself saying “I don’t have time to exercise”. Pause, have a moment and question that statement. Do you really not have enough time, or are you simply prioritizing other factors of life.