It started with my weekly email from Jon Gordon.  The title was “55 Days, There’s No Better Time Than Now.”

Upon opening it, the first line said “Counting today, there are 55 days left in 2019.”

Whoa? What? Reality-check. As you’re reading this now there are even less!

The email challenged readers to pick just ONE thing to better for yourself or your family to close 2019.

The message made me immediately realize there is no better time than now to re-focus my efforts on my health and fitness. My wife Megan is so proud that I’ve chosen health as my one thing for these final days of 2019.

So, with less than 55 days left in the calendar year, I’ve chosen to close 2019 by being intentional about my health.

Excuses

In the last two years, fitness and my overall health have been larger priorities for me than ever before. From writing down workout goals, eating better, wearing a fitness tracker, etc. I’ve taken many steps to make fitness and wellness a priority.

However, during the fall I tend to get a little pudgy. It is football season you know? I tend to have more adult beverages on the weekends, in front of the TV or at a tailgate, than normal. And you know it's not a tailgate without Doritos and pulled pork.

During the fall, I also teach classes at Auburn, so my days are long and the time to workout is shorter. Well, it’s shorter because I don’t normally feel like beginning a workout at 7:30 p.m.

These are all just excuses. What are some of the excuses that you find yourself facing?

Changes

There is no better time than now to stop the excuses. It’s time to implement changes now, before the holiday food is endless, that will help me maintain a healthy weight and not have me second-guessing my food and drink choices for two months.

What changes will I implement? Well, I have to make myself realize that 2-3 days a week it must be OK to workout at 7:30 p.m. But that is just temporary. The fall semester is over the first week of December and doesn’t begin again until early January. I will have an entire month of normally schedules workouts!

See what I did there? I looked at the positive side of things and not the negative. It’s hard to do, but as I always say, only you choose your attitude, so choose to be positive. What kind of changes can you make to overcome the excuses and be one step closer to your goal?

An Early Jump

By getting an early jump on my intentional fitness goals for 2020, I will be in the right mindset for our holiday travel. There’s no better time than now to re-focus on family and enjoying the foods and drinks that I like, while knowing I have intentionally planned proper fitness sessions along the way.

This mindset all ties back to my minimalist values of focusing on health, relationships, passion, growth, and contribution. I’m making a concerted effort to make each of these things an intentional part of my life and not things that ebb and flow. It’s hard to do and takes focus and energy, but it’s been an amazing change for me.

There’s no better time than now. There isn’t. No excuses. It’s time to focus on what matters to you and make the most of what’s left of 2019.

So what about you? What ONE THING will you focus on to close out the year?