I’ve been in the health and fitness industry in various capacities for almost 20 years and I like to say that I’m really in the “excuses” industry. Every person you meet is looking to solve some health or fitness related issue and everyone has some excuse as to why they haven’t solved that issue up to this point.
There is a myriad of goals and excuses that I have worked with throughout my many years in this industry…
However, there are really just two kinds of excuses.
There are the real excuses you absolutely want me to solve so that you can reach your goals.
And then there are the “excuses” that while they may be true, they are just in place to help justify why you haven’t made a change yet.
These are the excuses you DON’T actually even want to solve.
This type of excuse acts as a justification to continue to do, or not do, the same things that prevent you from reaching your goals without feeling bad about it.
One of my favorite quotes is “no lack of time or money has ever stopped from anyone from doing something they really want to do.’’
To simplify, is your EXCUSE bigger than your DESIRE? If it is, no matter what perfect excuse busting plan I put out there, it won’t work, because you don’t really want it to!!!
Let me give you a great example.
At a health club I used to work at, I had a member bring in a guest. Let’s call her “Sue.”
I talked with Sue for a long time that day about her fitness goals and how badly she said she wanted to get in shape. She said we had a good program and she thought she could reach her goals with us, BUT she said money was tight and she wanted to join but couldn’t afford it.
In this situation, her friend came to me privately the next week and said that she really wanted Sue to workout with her and that Sue really needed to make this change in her life.
She said she would pay 100% of Sue’s membership.
However, she didn’t want me to tell Sue that she was paying for it. She wanted me to tell Sue that she won a free year and there would be NO cost to join.
So throughout the next 6 WEEKS, I called, emailed, and even texted to let her know the great news. Her excuse that she couldn’t afford membership was SOLVED!!!!
But do you know what happened? She never called me back. She never responded and I never heard from her again. Never.
When you’re making an excuse, really think about what type of excuse you are making. Is it the kind you really want to work through?
Or is it the kind that simply keeps you comfortable staying right where you are?
Because you can’t work through an excuse you don’t really want to solve.
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Written by Scott Eigenberg, Member Services Representative at Elite Sports Club – Brookfield
Scott has worked in the fitness industry for over a decade since he was in college. With a B.S. in psychology from Drake University, he is deeply focused on motivation, incorporating and maintaining healthy habits long term, and making fitness something that is fun, rewarding, and social. Fitness, while at times challenging, does not have to just be a chore to get done or to dread. It’s an amazing medium for looking and feeling your best, increasing confidence, functionality, and energy, and has so many health benefits as well. Live in passion and the rest will fall into place!