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You are here: Home / Fitness / 3 Questions To Kill Every Excuse You’ve Ever Had

3 Questions To Kill Every Excuse You’ve Ever Had

August 23, 2012 By Joel Runyon 19 Comments

The next time you’re tempted to give up because you came up with a really  good excuse. Ask yourself:

  1. Would I believe this excuse if anyone else besides myself was saying it? (You wouldn’t).
  2. Does this excuse even make any sense? (It doesn’t).
  3. Am I really going to let this excuse stop me? (You shouldn’t).

Then keep going and don’t quit.

Your excuses are invalid 

 

 

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Filed Under: Fitness, Hacks, The Impossible

About Joel Runyon

I started IMPOSSIBLE to push myself to try to live a life worth writing about by pushing my limits, living an adventure & telling a great story by doing the impossible. You can get free updates in your inbox via your new favorite newsletter, free fitness training tutorials, and see all my businesses at Impossible X and our philanthropic efforts at Impossible.org

Comments

  1. Alex says

    August 23, 2012 at 1:32 pm

    Hi Joel!

    I came to your blog after reading the “Unexpected Ass Kicking” entry, and felt inspired by your impossible achievements, so I decided that I could get my own too. Read a little bit more, found out about your impossible abs and decided “hey, I can do that too!”

    Great timing on this post. Just yesterday I ran into a “bump” that almost demotivated me… and as elaborate as my excuse is, you perfectly nailed it with those questions.

    So far I have 3 days in a row of exercising (hey, I even biked to work today) and I’m slowly adapting a healthier diet. It’s too early to claim victory, but hopefully I’ll have my story to tell one of these days.

    Keep it up Joel!

    -Alex

    Reply
  2. Carlos Ramos says

    August 23, 2012 at 2:00 pm

    Short and to the point. Awesome!
    I just passed myself thru that test. So, now I know it is time to get down to work.

    Reply
  3. Caelan Huntress says

    August 23, 2012 at 2:45 pm

    I think Question #3 can overrule the first two.

    I’ve given myself plenty of excuses for stopping. They were believable, and made sense.

    “I can’t climb that bridge because it’s dangerous and it could kill me if I fell,” I came up against that one a few times.

    When I got to question #3, “Will I LET this excuse stop me?” Sometimes it did, and sometimes it didn’t.

    Bravery often makes less sense to us than our excuses do.

    Reply
  4. Amy says

    August 23, 2012 at 6:20 pm

    Word, dude. Word.

    I’d like to expand upon #2- what is the fear that is manifesting as this excuse, and is it valid?

    Usually, it won’t be. If it is, weighing the outcomes is a great way to smash through the fear and keep moving forward.

    Reply
    • Sandy says

      August 23, 2012 at 9:10 pm

      This is the perfect question.

      Reply
  5. Danilo says

    August 24, 2012 at 3:52 am

    I am always asking myself:
    “Are you just lazy or you really can’t?”
    “Do you really can’t do it or you just don’t want to do it?”

    Also, I am thinking about the time (1 -2 years ago) when I hesitated to do something. After that I realized that If I had started 2 years ago I would have completely different reallity today.

    Reply
  6. Lori Lynn Smith says

    August 24, 2012 at 11:26 pm

    awesome! I am going to tape these above my bike!

    Reply
  7. Jonathan says

    August 25, 2012 at 2:08 am

    I read this posting today after only being aware of your blog for 7 days. This evening I started running again. I’ve been biking and blading occasionally, but gave up running 15 years ago during my first marriage.

    My excuses were along the lines of “I really don’t need to run anymore” or “I don’t have the time, place,mrunning partner, etc.” The truth is, I love running, and though I thoroughly enjoy my biking and blading when I make time for them, running has always been with me.

    My goal, as impossible and potentially health-threatening as it may be, is to enter, run, and finish the BOA Chicago Marathon in October. I use to be capable of an easy 7 minute mile pace, and only need to be capable of a 15 minute mile pace to qualify. So is it possible for an old runner to whip him or herself back into shape in 45 days or less to meet such a goal? You make me think so, and I LOVE doing the impossible…

    Game on…

    Reply
  8. Thea Westra says

    August 26, 2012 at 11:59 pm

    Very impactful post, Joel. Short and direct! Particularly liked the question, “Does this excuse even make any sense?” That’s a great one to help dig a little deeper with what’s really going on. 🙂 Cheers, Thea

    Reply
  9. John Hawkins says

    August 31, 2012 at 4:44 pm

    Next we just need to remember not to go easy on ourselves with the first two! I like how #3 gives us as much motivation as it does shames us. Great post!

    Reply
  10. Chris Navarro says

    September 7, 2012 at 8:01 am

    If you want to do something bad enough you will find a way. If not you will find an excuse.

    Reply
  11. Neshika says

    September 12, 2012 at 1:31 am

    Joel, it’s my first visit to your blog & I love the get-real, no-bullsh*t message in this post. 

    And it couldn’t have come at a better time for me. I’ve been exploring the excuses plaguing me at the moment, and felt inspired to share on my blog one of your questions & some of my own to deal with them.

    Bottom line: Excuses live in our heads. Action lives in reality. It’s a matter of deciding which of the two we’re going to live in.

    Thanks for the reminder.

    Reply

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