Are you being too hard on yourself or are you making excuses?

I texted a friend yesterday complaining about how bad I felt about myself after eating disgustingly over the holidays and she replied that I am way too hard on myself.

“No, I'm not,” I thought. “If I'm not going to be hard on myself then who will?” None of my friends will slap my hand and say put down the beer and the cheese!!

But then I got to thinking about it, and I am really hard on myself.  Over the past year, I've started a business and built a really respectable number of clients – and it's doing nothing but growing! I also quit drinking Diet Coke. I started waking up really early to exercise. I've started meditating, and drinking more water. I've built all of these really healthy habits that I don't even acknowledge because I'm only focusing on what I'm not doing that I want to be doing!

When I decide not to work out because I want to spend time answering emails, I tell myself that I'm making excuses to not focus on my health because I'm so busy focusing on my business. And I beat myself up even more by thinking, “I work full time and then have this business, how is there ever going to be time for health?” Total excuse!!

I haven't focused on all the good things that I've done, taken stock of it, and appreciated how far I've come. There is a difference between being too hard on yourself and making excuses!!

I feel like I am starting to find that happy medium. I tell myself now, “If it pops into your head, do it now, just do it.” If I'm thinking about doing it, I must really want to do it, right??

Don't make an excuse not to do something and then beat yourself up about it later. That is such a waste of time and energy. I'm trying to be so much more conscious of that every single day.

If I think, “Gosh, I really should work out…” then I just need to get off my butt and go work out. The emails will get answered. No is going to come bang on my door because I spent a half hour working out before I answered their email.

I'm looking forward to getting a handle on my health in 2016. I've had such amazing results with small, consistent actions every single day in my business – when I apply that same dedication to my health I'll see results – especially when I stop beating myself up about the choices that I made yesterday.