Excuses
By Pat Gilles
My body hurts. I am tired. I didn’t sleep well. I just ate too much. I did not eat enough. It’s hot. It’s cold. It’s too late in the day. It’s too early.
Excuses. They come in all forms and all sound the same.
When you make excuses before a workout or race you lower expectations prior to effort (sometimes unconsciously) to avoid disappointment. You give yourself permission to under-perform. By laying the groundwork for failure beforehand everyone expects it, including you.
I know from the first time I meet someone if they will fit in at the gym or not. You have the choice to put in the work or make excuses. Believe me, there are many people who never come back to Pat’s Gym after their first session. It is way easier to tell yourself you had an off day, you are not that weak, it was just new exercises so your body was not used to it, you can do it on your own, etc.…. Excuses will not make the workout easier. Excuses will never make you better.
Excuses also come after competition. When people don’t succeed they tend to make excuses instead of focusing on their weaknesses and learning from their failure. I didn’t have the right taper, I was sick, I did not sleep well, and so on. Pretty soon you will convince yourself that you actually did poorly for those reasons rather than admitting the true problem. This pattern will happen over and over again. It becomes predictable. When you truly admit the reason for failing you will grow. The hardest person to admit it to is yourself. Once you do you will put your head down, demand more and confront the things you hate the most. Take risks and be willing to fail. When you break free of self-limitation you will overcome obstacles. The mind is very powerful. That power can be used for good or evil.
Now there is a difference between injuries, fatigue, and excuses. There is a fine line between them. I expect my clients to give me feedback on how they feel so I can adjust their workouts accordingly. If someone comes into the gym and they have an injury we train around it. I always say injuries are an opportunity to work on a weakness and it is all a mind set.
Remember we don’t train in a vacuum and every day is a snapshot of what we are capable of. So instead of instantly coming up with an excuse why you did not reach your goal, put the ego aside and give yourself a true assessment. If you can’t do it on your own create an environment where someone will tell you what you don’t want to hear but what you need to hear. If everyone you associate with makes excuses chances are you do as well. Who you are, what you do, whether or not you man up or make excuses – these are all in your control.
Next time you you consider accepting the excuse and being satisfied with anything less than your best, STFU and own it. You’ll be better for it.
