Excuses, Excuses!

Gotta love excuses! They get you out of ANYTHING. I've been finding that I give excuses to myself more than I give them to anyone else. I think that's the case with everyone out there. We tell ourselves why we cannot do things all the time. Here are my top excuses:

"Today has been a rough day. I'll just start tomorrow."

"Oops. I don't have time to make my lunch, I'll just eat out."

"I'm doing so good! One little bite won't hurt!"

"Ugh.. I don't want to be the only fat chick at the gym.. I'm not going."

"The kitchen is a mess. Can you say "takeout?!""

"I've worked hard enough all day.. It's time to relax!"

"I've already failed.. This day is shot. I'll try again tomorrow."

"Just a little chocolate will make me feel better!"

I could go on and on and on. It is so hard to break the habit of making excuses. I caught myself off guard one day when in the midst of making an excuse. I was thinking, "Ooo, I've dropped 5 lbs. I can reward myself with a treat!" All of the sudden, my lovely voice of reasoning screamed at me, "Noooo! You may have dropped 5lbs, but you are still obese! No treat!"

This instance got me thinking about all of the excuses I make, and how I really have to break this terrible habit. When making excuses previously, the little saying, "A moment on your lips, forever on your hips" use to work. Not so much anymore.

I do believe this is where prayer and self-control come in. I can pray and I know God will help me, but I also firmly believe in doing your share. I can pray all day long that God will give me self-control, and I know He will, but it is up to me to use it. God knows I rarely use the self-control He's given me.

Once upon a time, I talked to my counselor about self-control. She gave me some wonderful insight. She said that if you're not in the habit of using self-control, trying to tackle everything at once will lead you to become overwhelmed, and you will usually fail. However, if we take small steps at utilizing self-control, you'll more than likely succeed.

For instance, I'm obsessed with Diet Coke. I have the habit of drinking it like it's water, and I know I need to cut this out. So, if I make my mind up to drop one soda each day for a week, and utilize self-control over this small area, the next week it'll be easier to drop two sodas per day, and so on.

I'm attempting to apply this concept in a couple different areas of my life. So far, it's been hit and miss. Some days are better than others. I know that it'll come as I continue to work on it with God's help.

*~Courtney~*