How to Kick the “Maybe Someday” Excuse to the Curb

“Maybe someday….” “When I make more money, I’ll…”  “When I live in a different place… ” “When things are less busy…”

How often do we use this phrase to put off something we need to do for our health, our happiness, our work, or our family? Probably more than we’d like to admit. But this common excuse doesn’t have to limit you forever.

Dr. Theresa was LIVE on YouTube on October 7, 2024 to give you a perspective shift that will allow you to kick the common excuse, “maybe someday” to the curb.

Watch the full recording to dive into the details and keep reading below for the highlights.

Identify where this excuse is coming up.

We’ve worked with hundreds of leaders to dial in their well-being, and one of the most common one-liners we hear is “Things are really busy this week, but they should settle down next week, and THEN I’ll get started with these changes.” The unfortunate reality is that things are ALWAYS busy, life is always happening RIGHT NOW, and all of a sudden, 3 months have gone by without much progress toward the goal.

More recently, it’s been “Once the kids start school again, THEN I’ll be able to start a new routine.” But sure enough, a kid gets sick, or autumn break comes around, and the new nutrition plan, or new workout plan ends up pushed forward into the future again.

If this sounds like you, we want you to identify ON PAPER (or digital paper…) which areas in your life have a “maybe someday” attached to them.  Maybe it’s a nutrition tweak you (eventually) want to make, or a conversation you need to have, perhaps even a workout routine that you want to “get back in the swing” of doing. Maybe you want to start a garden, take a new class, or start sleeping better.

Now write them down, along with the conditions you’ve placed on them such as:

I’ll [run a race] [clean up my diet] [give the dogs more exercise] [start resistance training]. . .

• When I’m less busy
• When this crisis at work settles down
• When I make more money
• When school starts/ends
• When we live in a new home
• When my back feels better

Flip it to: “What about now?”

Now, for each of the items on your list, ask yourself, “What about now?”

Notice the sensations in your body when you ask yourself this question. Are you feeling excited, scared, hopeful?

Dr. T shared a personal story where she found herself thinking about running a mountain race, but kept telling herself….”I don’t really have time to train now. Maybe once my kids are older, I’ll run the race.” But when she asked herself, “What about now” she noticed some excitement about the idea of the race. She also noticed a little bit of fear coming up, especially as she didn’t have multiple hours per week to dedicate to training with an already full life.

And the answer to “what about now?” was: “I can sign up for the race.”

Then what?

Dr. T made a plan. She figured she could run about 3 times per week: two shorter runs from home, and one longer run on the weekends. So she trained for the mountain race and Dr. T completed the mountain race. She might not have even signed up for the race if she continued to wait for her kids to get older, it may have eventually turned into “maybe when they leave for college…”

So, look again at the items you’re putting off. What would an action plan look like that you can start TODAY?

Can you take ONE SMALL STEP toward that goal?

Maybe it’s just taking a walk to get 1,000 more steps than yesterday. Maybe it’s registering for a fitness class that happens next week. Or it’s planting a few seeds in a pot….you don’t have to plant the whole garden today.

Bottom Line: We only have the present in which to act. If you’ve found yourself in the “Maybe someday” trap, ask yourself “What about now?” And take a small action step toward your goal. 

How to dive deeper?

At Movement Rx, we are in the business of creating teams that lead and work better from a place of wellbeing. Because if you don’t make time for your wellbeing now, you’ll have to make time for disease later. Let us help your team build and leverage their well-being.

Schedule a Well-Being Strategy Call.