One of the biggest excuses people use for anything these days is “time”. I recently ran into a friend outside the gym the other day and we got to talking about fitness and my overall health goals. I then asked him, “So Sam, do you go to the gym also?”, and immediately he gave me a weary grimace and said “Nah, I don’t have the time”.
What does that mean exactly? Does Sam have less time in a day than me? Perhaps his day only consists of 20 hours and so the 4 hours that he’s deprived of by God he spends sleeping or tagging photos on Facebook? Considering I hear that excuse almost every day from people, I assume they, like Sam, must also have less hours in the day than me.
See where I’m going with this people? Everybody has the same amount of time each day. If you’re too busy (the 2nd most popular excuse I hear which I’ll save for another blog post) to do something, then it’s not a case of time, it’s a case of priorities. Sam doesn’t go to the gym not because he doesn’t HAVE the time, but he simply doesn’t MAKE the time for it. If working out was important enough for him (and I’m not suggesting it should or shouldn’t) he would prioritise it.
The two reasons that this excuse annoys me so much is firstly, as I indicated above, it’s not actually true; and secondly, is that time is an element of life that one doesn’t and cannot manipulate. Therefore when one blames everything on time, it’s as though they are attributing their poor situation to something ELSE out of their control - making time a poor scapegoat.
The next time somebody excuses their behaviour, lifestyle or actions with “time”, do them and me a favour, and slap them upside the head! And send them the link to this blog post; it’s not subjective, it’s fact and they won’t disagree with you!
Adieu,
ACA
