The Good Reason Not To

It’s garbage day, and I’m sending away the good reason not to. 

So many times people tell me, ask me, invite me, or show me something I could change. I respond with my good reason not to. It sounds like this, “you should go on a world cruise with me.” “I can’t, I have to drive my son to school.” 

Excuses seem totally legitimate, but they’re really not. Many of the problems presented by excuses seem insurmountable because there are three steps to the solution. My mind plays tricks on me. It wants to stay safe and secure, its reluctant to change its ways. 

I know what I should do, I should do EVERYTHING, uncomfortable or not. 

In my experience, the unhappiest people are the ones with the best excuses. They complain incessantly, but have BIG excuses that keep them from making the changes that would bring happiness. 

When I started on this healing path, the first thing I gave up was complaining. Complaining was replaced with change. If I didn’t like it, rather than complain about it, I changed it. I clung only to the things I had good excuses not to change. It’s time to shed those, too. 

Solutions are where it’s at. I don’t want excuses anymore, however good. I know hundreds of people in this town who would be happy to give my son a ride to school while I’m traveling the world. The truth is that I can create exactly the life I want, and there are no good excuses. 

Not to confuse the life I want with the life other people want for me, because that is completely different. Doing what I want is fantastic, and choosing to do things my way is a good reason to say no to everything else. 

When I was overweight, I was in pain all the time. I remember someone telling me to cut out inflammatory foods. My good reason not to was that it was too hard because I was a vegetarian. A few years later, I cut out inflammatory foods, lost the weight and became pain free. If, instead of putting my good reason not to between myself and a positive change, I had instead just TRIED it, I would have found relief from the things I complained about so much -years- sooner. 

So. Next time I find myself refusing a positive change, avoiding something, not following my inner voice, or not doing something fantastic, I’m going to dig deep for my good reason not to, set it aside, and keep going. I want to change, and I’m sending away my good reason not to.