Am I Really Lacking Discipline & Just Make Excuses?

Hands up if this sounds like you, someone you know or something you’ve ever said to yourself in the past?

"I’m such a failure. Why can’t I do it? Why can’t I stick to it and why am I all in on my fitness one minute, then scrap it off?”

Game of Thrones leaving us all feeling ashamed.

When this language right here, is exactly why you’re struggling. This is the the reason you’re finding it hard to get consistent with your nutrition & training. It isn’t because you’re undisciplined, unmotivated and purposely letting yourself down. It isn’t because you don’t want it badly enough. Or because you’re not worthy of the goals you’ve set. That’s just language you’ve been taught to say to yourself; the stuff you’ve been told is an excuse or weakness.

I know how badly people like you want to achieve their goals. How much they think about that end target and just what it means to them. I’ve spoken to enough people in similar positions who tell me how BADLY they want to achieve something but how often they feel they’re letting themselves down. They can’t stay consistent and something always throws them off. Then they spiral. Some call it going off track, falling off the bandwagon or just binning it off totally.

This isn’t a discipline problem. It isn’t a case of not being motivated to achieve something. It’s because the environment we live in, isn’t an easy one to navigate. It sure as s**t isn’t as straight forward as we’d like. 

Feeling confused yet?

These “excuses” you’re telling yourself that you’re making are in fact obstacles and barriers you’re facing. These are the things that are preventing you from being consistent. Personal, situational, financial, environmental obstacles that mean we often resort to comfort or the known to tackle them. Our brain resorts to what it knows because that's comfortable and safe territory. It's a defence mechanism. Something we blame as lack of dedication, is in fact just trying to keep you safe and alive.

So these things you're negatively calling yourself out for being lazy for doing, really aren't. We need to stop saying we are lazy; tell yourself something enough and it soon becomes fact. You’re not lazy. You’re just being smart and preserving energy by subconsciously choosing a reaction that you know already. Your brain is actively choosing to protect you, by resorting to an action you’ve done often enough that it’s second nature.

When we replace excuses with obstacles you can start to look at it, as how can I tackle that barrier.

~Why am I acting in that way?

~What has triggered that response?

~Why do I feel comfortable with that gut reaction?

~How could I better tackle that obstacle?

~Have I dealt with this before in the past and if so what was the outcome?

Less self shaming, more self understanding and awareness

It takes away part of that judgement and guilt. Instead giving ourselves to be curious and get to know why we act in a certain way. Once we start recognising patterns, we can create systems and techniques that we can slot in when needed! So that we have a toolbox of tricks up our sleeves to help. So when these things happen again in the future (trust me, they will), you’re more prepared and less likely to act out of panic. Once you take away that blame and self shaming, you’re less likely to feel out of control or like you’re “falling off track”. Because you’ve already removed the pressure, of whatever staying on track means and formed even more paths forward for the future!

Hope this helped!