I have had so many excuses for so long when it comes to exercise! I am well aware of why I should, I’m also well aware of how great I feel not only physically but mentally when I do.

In fact, I even appreciate and understand (well sort of) the chemical benefits that come from regular exercise! Exercise makes us happier people, more able to combat stress, our brain function even sharpens!  It also does something amazing for the mind in proving what we are truly capable of hard things, which boosts confidence in our abilities and than offers the added bonus of boosting our confidence as we begin to like what we see in the mirror more and more.  And then there are those magical endorphins released during vigorous exercise – endorphins are often thought of when we think of ‘fight or flight’, but they also diminish pain association allowing us to push ourselves harder and farther, decrease stress, suppress appetite, increase immune response and give us that euphoric feeling (think runner’s high). 

So knowing all of this, you’d think I’d be a die hard. But I’m not! I’m so completely and utterly not! And I have had so many great excuses on why I couldn’t workout – I’ll spare you the list because really, who cares. 

The point is I’m running again (I bet you’d figured that out by now). My motivation? My husband signed me up to run a Warrior Dash with him. He’s really into those obstacle mud runs. Last year he flew and drove around the country to get his Spartan Trifecta, this year he plans to do even more races but the first race is one he’s been begging me to do with him for years. I finally (in a moment of what I can only assume was temporary insanity, said yes). So in 20 days I’m running a 5K littered with obstacles that promises to leave me dripping with mud and hopefully still breathing. 

As a result of this impending race, I have kicked it into high gear and suddenly all of those excuses, weren’t good enough to stop me anymore and it made me think… 

How many of our excuses are really just empty threats holding us back from what we really want from life? 

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