The mind is a wonderful thing. It’s also a liar and an excuse machine that frequently tries to convince us not to take actions we know are good for us. This ultimately prevents many positive changes from taking place in our lives.
I’ve had to learn to watch these lies and excuses very carefully in order to make the positive changes I’ve made in my life: a healthier diet, regular exercise, meditation, more sleep, daily writing, better planning, less procrastination, more focus, etc.
If I hadn’t learned about these lies and excuses, and how to suppress them, I would never have succeeded in making these positive changes. In fact, until I knew better, I had failed countless times when I was young because my mind’s deceptive tendencies used to get the best of me.
So why does the mind lie to us and make irrational excuses?
Because the mind wants comfort – that’s why. It’s afraid of discomfort, pressure and change. The mind is used to its comfort zone, and anytime we try to stretch that zone too far, for too long, the mind tries desperately to get back to ground zero at any cost… including sacrificing our long-term health, happiness and success.
So let’s expose five of the cowardly mind’s most regretful lies and excuses once and for all – Marc and I have literally seen these specific lies and excuses plaguing hundreds of our course students over the past decade:
1. "I can’t do it." – It seems too difficult at first, so you think you can’t stick to the positive change you’re making. You subconsciously don’t believe in yourself enough to take another step. This is a common lie/excuse that can be countered by looking at the fact that other people no more capable than you have done it. For example, my 60-year-old next-door neighbor ran a marathon a little before I started training for my first half-marathon, and so I told myself, “If she can do it, so can I!” And I was right. Truth be told, the only person who can tell you “I can’t” is you. If you hear those words echoing in the back of your mind, tune them out. In the end, your doubts and your faith have something in common. They both ask you to believe in something you can’t see; you simply have to decide which one you want to believe. (covered in the "Goals & Growth" module of "Getting Back to Happy")
2. "They can do it, but that doesn’t apply to me because they have it better than me." – Just because someone else can, doesn’t mean you can, right? You look for reasons they can do it but you can’t – maybe he’s an internet entrepreneur or freelance writer because he has no kids. Maybe she’s way fitter than I am, so she can run a marathon. Maybe she doesn’t have all the work and family obligations I have, or has a supportive spouse, or doesn’t have bad knees. OK, fine, it’s easy to find excuses: but look at all the other people who have considerable obstacles too who’ve done it. Marc and I have a family, and have dealt with significant loss in our lives, and still managed to succeed on many fronts. And just as we’ve turned things around for ourselves, we know hundreds of other people who’ve done the same. Through a decade of life coaching, we’ve witnessed people reinventing themselves at all ages – 48-year olds starting families, 57-year-olds graduating from college for the first time, 71-year-olds starting successful businesses, and so forth. And stories abound of people with disabilities or illnesses who overcame their obstacles to achieve great things. Your obstacles can be overcome. (covered in the "Getting Out of Your Own Way" lesson of "Getting Back to Happy")
3. "It’ll be too hard because I can’t get by without _______." – Fill in the blank: I need my wine, my cheese, my sweets, my TV shows, my nine hours of sleep, my big house, my fancy wardrobe, etc. These are luxuries we convince ourselves we can’t live without, so we can justify not making positive changes like eating healthier or exercising daily or saving money or simplifying our lives or building a profitable side hustle. And like I said, I’m not immune either – in the past I’ve made these excuses myself, but they all turned out to be lies. I didn’t need any of these things in my life, and believing that I did was only getting in the way of the positive changes I was capable of creating for myself. (covered in the "Letting Go of What's No Longer Serving You" lesson of "Getting Back to Happy")
4. "Life is meant to be easier and enjoyed more." – Sure, I agree that life should be enjoyed (as many of us do) but the problem is that the idea that life should ALWAYS be easy and enjoyable is used to justify all kinds of lazy behavior. Might as well sit on the couch and scarf down those Twinkies, because hey, life is meant to be enjoyed, right? Nope. You can do without junk food and still enjoy life. You can exercise and enjoy it. You can give up a lot of comfort in your life and not lose a thing. In fact, the path of least resistance is often the path of least reward. You need to do hard things. There are no shortcuts to any place worth going. As Einstein once said, “Genius is 1% talent and 99% hard work.” You must run to be a runner. You must write to be a writer. You must actively work on a business venture to learn how to run a successful business. There is no substitute for doing the work. So meditate on this every day: “I will do the work. It won’t be easy. It will be worth it!” (covered in the "Increasing Your Willpower" lesson of "Getting Back to Happy")
5. "I can do it later." – Sure, you can always do it later… but your later self will feel the same exact way. Think about it: Why should your later self be more disciplined than your present self? In fact, because you’re allowing yourself to slack off now, you’re building a habit of procrastination and actually making it less likely that your later self will be more disciplined. So today, stop making excuses for why you can’t get it done and start focusing on all the reasons why you must make it happen. Stop talking about what you have done or what you are going to do. Just do it and let your actions speak for themselves. Most great things in life don’t happen by chance, they happen by choice. You never know what’s possible until you risk finding out. In the end, there is only one thing that makes your dreams and goals completely impossible to achieve: Your lack of action today. (covered in the "Goals & Growth" module of "Getting Back to Happy")
And of course, if you're struggling with any of this, know that you are not alone. Many of us are right there with you, working hard to feel better, think more clearly, and get our lives back on track. This is precisely why Marc and I built “Getting Back to Happy.” The course is filled with time-tested steps on how to do just that. And I'm thrilled to let you know that the full Getting Back to Happy course is now OPEN again to early access members.
Have we been sending you more emails than usual about this over the past several weeks?
YES! Because we’re closing the doors Friday, July 7th to early access members and sometimes we need a little nudge to invest in ourselves.
This is not some ebook that you read and forget about. It's a revolutionary, self-paced online course and community with 60 HD video lessons, and hundreds of time-tested strategies and techniques that will teach you scientifically proven methods for Conquering Pain, Eliminating Insecurity, Beating Procrastination, Healing Toxic Relationships, Taming Life’s Complications, and Building Consistent Growth into Your Life and Career -- the exact proven strategies and techniques Marc and I have used in our coaching practice to help tens of thousands of people over the past decade.
It took 17 iterations, and thousands of dollars, to get it right.
These techniques work no matter where you stand in your current situation or what you’re up against going forward. Even if you have limited experience with self-improvement and personal development tactics. And even if you don't know what you really want for yourself…yet.
I’ve had to learn to watch these lies and excuses very carefully in order to make the positive changes I’ve made in my life: a healthier diet, regular exercise, meditation, more sleep, daily writing, better planning, less procrastination, more focus, etc.
If I hadn’t learned about these lies and excuses, and how to suppress them, I would never have succeeded in making these positive changes. In fact, until I knew better, I had failed countless times when I was young because my mind’s deceptive tendencies used to get the best of me.
So why does the mind lie to us and make irrational excuses?
Because the mind wants comfort – that’s why. It’s afraid of discomfort, pressure and change. The mind is used to its comfort zone, and anytime we try to stretch that zone too far, for too long, the mind tries desperately to get back to ground zero at any cost… including sacrificing our long-term health, happiness and success.
So let’s expose five of the cowardly mind’s most regretful lies and excuses once and for all – Marc and I have literally seen these specific lies and excuses plaguing hundreds of our course students over the past decade:
1. "I can’t do it." – It seems too difficult at first, so you think you can’t stick to the positive change you’re making. You subconsciously don’t believe in yourself enough to take another step. This is a common lie/excuse that can be countered by looking at the fact that other people no more capable than you have done it. For example, my 60-year-old next-door neighbor ran a marathon a little before I started training for my first half-marathon, and so I told myself, “If she can do it, so can I!” And I was right. Truth be told, the only person who can tell you “I can’t” is you. If you hear those words echoing in the back of your mind, tune them out. In the end, your doubts and your faith have something in common. They both ask you to believe in something you can’t see; you simply have to decide which one you want to believe. (covered in the "Goals & Growth" module of "Getting Back to Happy")
2. "They can do it, but that doesn’t apply to me because they have it better than me." – Just because someone else can, doesn’t mean you can, right? You look for reasons they can do it but you can’t – maybe he’s an internet entrepreneur or freelance writer because he has no kids. Maybe she’s way fitter than I am, so she can run a marathon. Maybe she doesn’t have all the work and family obligations I have, or has a supportive spouse, or doesn’t have bad knees. OK, fine, it’s easy to find excuses: but look at all the other people who have considerable obstacles too who’ve done it. Marc and I have a family, and have dealt with significant loss in our lives, and still managed to succeed on many fronts. And just as we’ve turned things around for ourselves, we know hundreds of other people who’ve done the same. Through a decade of life coaching, we’ve witnessed people reinventing themselves at all ages – 48-year olds starting families, 57-year-olds graduating from college for the first time, 71-year-olds starting successful businesses, and so forth. And stories abound of people with disabilities or illnesses who overcame their obstacles to achieve great things. Your obstacles can be overcome. (covered in the "Getting Out of Your Own Way" lesson of "Getting Back to Happy")
3. "It’ll be too hard because I can’t get by without _______." – Fill in the blank: I need my wine, my cheese, my sweets, my TV shows, my nine hours of sleep, my big house, my fancy wardrobe, etc. These are luxuries we convince ourselves we can’t live without, so we can justify not making positive changes like eating healthier or exercising daily or saving money or simplifying our lives or building a profitable side hustle. And like I said, I’m not immune either – in the past I’ve made these excuses myself, but they all turned out to be lies. I didn’t need any of these things in my life, and believing that I did was only getting in the way of the positive changes I was capable of creating for myself. (covered in the "Letting Go of What's No Longer Serving You" lesson of "Getting Back to Happy")
4. "Life is meant to be easier and enjoyed more." – Sure, I agree that life should be enjoyed (as many of us do) but the problem is that the idea that life should ALWAYS be easy and enjoyable is used to justify all kinds of lazy behavior. Might as well sit on the couch and scarf down those Twinkies, because hey, life is meant to be enjoyed, right? Nope. You can do without junk food and still enjoy life. You can exercise and enjoy it. You can give up a lot of comfort in your life and not lose a thing. In fact, the path of least resistance is often the path of least reward. You need to do hard things. There are no shortcuts to any place worth going. As Einstein once said, “Genius is 1% talent and 99% hard work.” You must run to be a runner. You must write to be a writer. You must actively work on a business venture to learn how to run a successful business. There is no substitute for doing the work. So meditate on this every day: “I will do the work. It won’t be easy. It will be worth it!” (covered in the "Increasing Your Willpower" lesson of "Getting Back to Happy")
5. "I can do it later." – Sure, you can always do it later… but your later self will feel the same exact way. Think about it: Why should your later self be more disciplined than your present self? In fact, because you’re allowing yourself to slack off now, you’re building a habit of procrastination and actually making it less likely that your later self will be more disciplined. So today, stop making excuses for why you can’t get it done and start focusing on all the reasons why you must make it happen. Stop talking about what you have done or what you are going to do. Just do it and let your actions speak for themselves. Most great things in life don’t happen by chance, they happen by choice. You never know what’s possible until you risk finding out. In the end, there is only one thing that makes your dreams and goals completely impossible to achieve: Your lack of action today. (covered in the "Goals & Growth" module of "Getting Back to Happy")
And of course, if you're struggling with any of this, know that you are not alone. Many of us are right there with you, working hard to feel better, think more clearly, and get our lives back on track. This is precisely why Marc and I built “Getting Back to Happy.” The course is filled with time-tested steps on how to do just that. And I'm thrilled to let you know that the full Getting Back to Happy course is now OPEN again to early access members.
Have we been sending you more emails than usual about this over the past several weeks?
YES! Because we’re closing the doors Friday, July 7th to early access members and sometimes we need a little nudge to invest in ourselves.
This is not some ebook that you read and forget about. It's a revolutionary, self-paced online course and community with 60 HD video lessons, and hundreds of time-tested strategies and techniques that will teach you scientifically proven methods for Conquering Pain, Eliminating Insecurity, Beating Procrastination, Healing Toxic Relationships, Taming Life’s Complications, and Building Consistent Growth into Your Life and Career -- the exact proven strategies and techniques Marc and I have used in our coaching practice to help tens of thousands of people over the past decade.
It took 17 iterations, and thousands of dollars, to get it right.
These techniques work no matter where you stand in your current situation or what you’re up against going forward. Even if you have limited experience with self-improvement and personal development tactics. And even if you don't know what you really want for yourself…yet.
For a limited time the Getting Back to Happy (Early Access) course includes…
- New, Revolutionary online course and supportive community packed with 60 HD video trainings – includes hundreds of scientifically proven methods for getting back on track, and member-only discussion forums where you can discuss each lesson with Marc, me and other course members. All videos are mobile friendly for iPad/iPhone/Android for your commute -- so you can have an "invisible coach" every day.
- A full year of personalized email support (and phone support when needed) by Marc and me (not outsourced to someone else) – to make sure you’re getting the daily support you need to create the life you deserve.
- One hour of two-on-one Skype, FaceTime or phone coaching with both Marc and me (can be used whenever you're ready) – so we can help you with the course material, or any issue you need help with, face-to-face.
- Audio versions of all Getting Back to Happy course lessons – so you can listen and re-listen and learn on the go.
- Lifetime access -- If you need to "pause" the course for any reason -- like a vacation, wedding, whatever -- you can pick right back up. These materials are yours for life.
- A 100% money-back guarantee -- All of this completely protected -- risk-free -- for 30-Days. You can go through the course and THEN decide if it's right for you.
You don't need to spend $15,000 on annual coaching (a realistic average) or even more on live seminars to get back to being...
Effective. Confident. Energetic. Successful. Connected. Clear-headed. Courageous. Attractive. Comfortable in your skin. Free from addictions and habits that hold you back. Free from toxic relationships. Propelled by a sense of purpose. Secure in your zone of inner, creative genius. Driven by your true potential to the point of realizing your dreams. Awakened to the positive changes you're making in your life and the lives around you on a major scale. Slim, trim, and uninterested in french fries.
Seriously, how many times have you wished these qualities would just wash over you, and that you'd wake up one day as an unstoppable version of YOU? That’s exactly what this course will do for you. In fact, this material is so valuable that when we gave our prior members the chance to join a few days early, dozens of them signed up immediately.
Again, the Getting Back to Happy course is officially OPEN TODAY -- and it closes Friday (July 7) at 11:59pm Pacific to early access members. Don't wait to "figure it out" someday -- check out the details now.
Effective. Confident. Energetic. Successful. Connected. Clear-headed. Courageous. Attractive. Comfortable in your skin. Free from addictions and habits that hold you back. Free from toxic relationships. Propelled by a sense of purpose. Secure in your zone of inner, creative genius. Driven by your true potential to the point of realizing your dreams. Awakened to the positive changes you're making in your life and the lives around you on a major scale. Slim, trim, and uninterested in french fries.
Seriously, how many times have you wished these qualities would just wash over you, and that you'd wake up one day as an unstoppable version of YOU? That’s exactly what this course will do for you. In fact, this material is so valuable that when we gave our prior members the chance to join a few days early, dozens of them signed up immediately.
Again, the Getting Back to Happy course is officially OPEN TODAY -- and it closes Friday (July 7) at 11:59pm Pacific to early access members. Don't wait to "figure it out" someday -- check out the details now.
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