I am fearful that a large percentage of people who have learned that obesity has been classified recently as a disease by the America Medical Association may soon be crippled by another disease that is even scarier! If not treated, it can prevent us from living life as we are were meant to live it. It is potentially deadly and highly contagious. We must prevent it from infecting our TOPS chapters! One of the strangest things about it is that hardly anyone realizes when they are infected. In fact, the condition didn’t even have a name. So I have given it one. There is a pending epidemic of EFWIC disease going around. If you are curious, read on…

The disease EFWIC—which means “excuses for why I can’t”—can spread like wildfire. (I love the story that inspired this blog by author Hal Urban in his book, Life’s Greatest Lessons.)

This reminds me that all of us trying to make choices in our weight-loss journey sometimes pepper the path with comments like “It’s too hard.” and “I didn’t have time.”. The truth is, if we are always looking for excuses for why we can’t do things, we will never find the reasons why we can. Let’s quit living a life of limitations and work on building one of possibilities. We can exchange old, negative beliefs for new positive ones. When faced with life’s challenges, are you more likely to meet them with excuses for why you can’t overcome them, or reasons for why you can? At your next chapter meeting, challenge everyone to write down the times in the previous week where they made an excuse or heard anyone else making one. I’m sure your weight recorder can help!

Give everyone a sheet of paper divided into three columns labeled Reasons to be Healthy, Why I Can’t” and “Why I Can”. Go around the group and share. For every excuse in the “Why I Can’t” column, place a counter statement in the “Why I Can”. Let’s take time to discuss ways to turn an “I Can’t” around and create an “I Can”.

After everyone has had a turn, have each person write his or her favorite excuse on a slip of paper and hold a symbolic “I Can’t Funeral”. Collect all the excuses and toss them out in a quick ceremony to end the meeting. Excuses drag us down and creep into our minds, creating self-doubt and fear. Let’s fill our days more fully with positive calls to action and lay those excuses to rest once and for all. We can eradicate EFWIC!

As Henry Ford said, “If you think you can or you think you can’t—you’re right.”

I Care, Barb