That reason you gave for why you didn't follow through...It's also what you gave your power to. We are just so committed to our reasons that we lie to ourselves and don't call them what they are...excuses. Our excuses repeatably disguise themselves so that we can't see them for what they really are. As long as we don't call them excuses, we can feel ok about not doing anything about them. What are your "because" statements?

I couldn't go to the class i signed up for because...

I couldn't get up early and do my workout because...

It was too hard to eat healthy today because...

I skipped my time with God today because...

I didn't set my week up for success because...

I couldn't finish the project because...

Hebrews 12:1 - Let us Strip down every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily traps us.

Our excuses trap us.  As long as we keep giving our power to our excuses, we will stay stuck.

• You can't Discover the race you're running if you keep making excuses.
• You can't RUN your race if you keep allowing your excuses.
• You can't FINISH your race if you are still giving power to your excuses. 

Let's talk about my Jesus for a minute.  He endured the worst things humanly possible and still stayed the course.  And yet...we complain about getting up an extra 20 minutes to spend time alone with him, or to get a workout in, or to prep our food for the day, because it's "too hard". 

It's not hard, we are just really undisciplined, and too focused on things that don't matter.

How about excuses for not giving something up? Like a food or alcohol addiction or binging on TV or social media.  Part of the process of removing something from your life is understanding how you are your giving control over to it and why you are giving control to it.  What are the good things you are missing out on because you are giving your time, money and thoughts to these things?  What is the cost?

How about specifically the things we put in our bodies that we absolutely know are not for us.  We have taken wonderful things that God has created for us (pinneapple, strawberries, grapes, melon, tomatoes, you get my drift) and decided that it wasn't good enough and created things for ourselves that don't even resemble real food anymore. We are literally making ourselves sick with these things. 

Don't get me wrong, I am not perfect in this, but I am making progress.  When you start eating more nutritiously, and start feeling better, you just want to keep doing that.  I have had to get rid of one excuse at a time and start being truthful with myself. 

• How is that ice cream going to make you feel tomorrow - pretty crappy, slow and gassy. 
• How are you going to sleep after you eat that huge meal and wash it down with multiple glasses of wine - not well at all, which will lead to a wasted day tomorrow. 
• How will your body react if you drink that pop - I am going to have irritating heartburn all day. 
• What is going to happen when you eat all that sugar - ugh, I am going to be really crabby and lose my patience, probably have a headache and be bloated all week. 

These are some of the things I have learned about my body when I stopped giving power to my "becauses".

Let us strip down every weight that slows us down.

 We were created with purpose and potential.  The kind that can't be accomplished if we aren't working on ourselves - Mind, Body, and Soul. Our excuses get in the way of our ability to follow Jesus.  They get in the way of us getting healthy.  They get in the way of our growth and potential.  

But here's the other thing about excuses. They usually always seem reasonable, right? Like, ones that no one is going to find fault with you on, but they absolutely are keeping you from experiencing the amazing view of your life that you are capable of achieving. They delay or completely keep us from blessings reserved for us. They become the boss of us. They are lies that we tell ourselves, and that we believe.

We tend to stack these excuses up to make ourselves feel better about giving up. My beautiful friend, don't get left behind on the ride of your life! Stop being afraid to GO ALL IN. God loves you just how you are, BUT he also loves you so much that he is not willing to leave you as you are. He knows your potential and he wants you to stop hiding behind your "because". 

Don't' be afraid.  Did you know that is where a lot of our excuses come from?  Our fear. We are not to live by fear. 

So - If you have made it this far, I want to talk about what this is costing you.  Your reasons, your excuses, what is it costing you? You can only live behind an excuse for so long before it impacts your life.  It's costing you: confidence, boldness, energy, growth, opportunities, strength, courage, health, impact, and blessings, just to name a few. At least that is what is has cost me. 

I have decided that the cost of MY excuses is too high.  I am boldly shining the light on each of my excuses as they arise and asking myself, what is this costing me? I want to have freedom from them.  I want to break each chain one at a time. I want to see clearly when I am lying to myself by calling it a reason instead of an excuse.  

There are 2 kinds of people : Ones that make a difference and ones that make excuses. I want to be the former.

There are 2 kinds of people:  Ones that are me and ones that are not me.  I am in control of the former :)

Excuses make us small and selfish.  They cause us to miss out on the life we could have, on who we are created to be.  What are YOU missing out on because you are not well, you don't feel well, sleep well, your body hurts, you have headaches all the time, you're always tired. These things hold us back and 90% of them are completely within our control to change.

What is your reason for why you can't work on your body, mind and soul?.  The reasons you give are just sublte ways to not take responsibility of your life and pursue your  purpose. 

How can we work on getting rid of what is holding us back?

1. Identify your excuses - really take a good look at your "because" statements.
2. Question your excuses - just ask yourself "Why".  Why do you make excuses for those particular things? What are you afraid of? Take away it's power.
3. Quit calling them reasons. Call it out.  They are excuses. Take your power back.
4. Ask yourself - What do I lose/miss out on if I continue to live under these excuses. What does it cost me?

Are you willing to take these steps with me? What if you became the person who no longer lived according to your excuses?.  Only YOU can do what God called you to do. Think about what you have been missing out on and refuse to do it anymore.