A new disease, actually an old disease, but one that has just recently received more attention, is the potentially fatal condition called EXCUSE-itis!

This is not so much a medically fatal disease as it is an emotionally fatal disease. Actually, it’s not so much the making of the excuse that is so potentially dangerous, its what opportunities you might miss out on, or what crisis may befall you, as a result of making the often ‘lame’ excuse that is so dangerous.

Do your self a favor, make a mental note of how many excuses you make every day. So someone will say to you, ‘Hey, I’ve just heard about a great opportunity. Why not join me at a meeting tomorrow night, it’s only an hour. Seems like there’s  great potential’. Your response, ‘I haven’t got time’. The next minute your other mate calls and says, ‘Join me for a beer?’ Your response, ‘Yeah, sure what time’!

For years now I’ve been trying to encourage patients to make certain lifestyle changes… often nothing  dramatic, just cut down a bit on this or that, leave out wheat because you KNOW you react badly to it, lets get you onto a program to lose 5 – 10 kgs as it’s clear that you’re heading down the diabetes path… The response is usually ‘I’d love to, BUT then there’s nothing to eat’ or, ‘do you know how difficult it is to…’, or you try for it 5 minutes and realize that behavior patterns have to change to give up..

It usually then takes a crisis or a reality check of some sort to shock one into action. Just have a heart attack an see how quick and easy it suddenly becomes to lose 10kgs. For all those smokers that I’ve encouraged to stop smoking, just wait till the diagnosis of lung cancer is made and see how easy it suddenly becomes to stop!

So the message is, don’t wait for the crisis to catapult you into action. Whether it is about you medical health, financial health, emotional health, or whatever…STOP making the lame excuses and DO something. Now.