This is my son getting ready to try to jump. He has been trying for about a month now. He has fallen multiple times but every day I catch him practicing and trying over and over with little luck. However, I know that very soon, he’ll be a pro jumper.
The past year of my life has been a whirlwind of self-doubt, fear, more self-doubt, and a hint of laziness. I’ll blame the laziness on pregnancy though. Months went by that I was brewing with goals and ideas that plagued me from the start of the day but I didn’t act upon them. I would go as far as writing down everything that was on my mind that I wanted to accomplish, feel great about the long list I wrote, and then set it down to collect dust. Every time I looked at the lists I felt like they were burning through my insides and yet I did nothing.
It was not until I saw myself at complete rock bottom. When I say rock bottom I mean in complete fear of losing everything. That’s when a massive shift occurred for me. I came to the point that I had no choice but to move and move fast. I had no choice but to give life my all and put myself out there. And what happened next? My life started to change drastically and quickly.
The reason why I tell this story is because I had fallen into the victimhood of saying no to change. I knew exactly what I had to change but I wasn’t willing to put aside my fears, self-doubts, and laziness to give it my all. Lately, I’ve been having conversations with many people about struggles, fears, and the reasons why they can’t make a decision. These all happen to be decisions that would massively impact their lives for the better. However, those decisions involve commitment, hard work, and maybe a little pain. Whether it is to have a child, lose weight, or even forgive. They all involve very similar but difficult steps.
Some of the top reasons why you don’t want to make a change:
1. FEAR
You’re scared of what it may do to your life. It might take away your time. You may lose friends. You’re scared of the effort you will have to make. You’re scared to make the investment and risk losing. You’re scared of change.
2. COMMITMENT
Pretty straight forward. You’re afraid to commit. Commitment takes effort and sacrifices.
3. LAZINESS
The word says it all.
4. SELF-DOUBT
You don’t think you can handle it. You’re not good enough. You can’t keep up. That person does it better.
5. TIME
Your life is too busy. You don’t think you can make the time for it.
6. CONTENTMENT
You’re content with life as it is, or are you?
Start Before You’re Ready
These are all really excuses that you tell yourself are valid for not moving forward. However, neither of them should be enough to stop you. The point is, you will never have time, you will never be perfect, and the situation will never be ideal. In fact, there will never be the “perfect” time to do anything. It’s never the perfect time to lose weight, have kids, move, start a job, quit a job. Life will always continue as it is unless you are willing to make a change. Everything will remain as it is unless you take initiative in achieving your goals.
When you make a commitment to make a change, it won’t happen over night. It won’t be easy either. However, the benefits in the end will be so worth it that you know you are doing the right thing. This applies to any situation. Whether you chose to have a child. It takes time for the baby to form and be ready for the world. When you chose to lose weight it takes time, effort, and commitment to eating well. When you chose to take on a business venture, the money won’t come overnight. It will take a long period of time of consistent effort until you achieve that goal. That’s why you have to start before you’re ready. The longer you wait until you’re ready, the longer you are postponing it and life is passing you by. You need to start before you’re ready or you will never start! Are you making excuses or are you ready to commit?
