Do You Have This Character Flaw?

by Gus Worden | January 06, 2026

I work for an employer. The chance is strong that you do too, even if you are self-employed. Unfortunately for those in the latter group, they have a horrible boss and a worse employee. I would know because I have been there. No matter the job or employer, you have to show up at pre-agreed times to complete "duties as assigned." Not coming to work is not good. That means that your boss will get upset, and rightfully so. You did not hold up your end of the deal and he has every right to fire your unreliable ass.

With this in mind, my question is a simple one: If you would show up to work religiously, because not doing so is out of the question, is not showing up to your scheduled workout just as non-negotiable? It should be.

Let's go ahead and assume that it has been a tough day. We all have them. The alarm goes off and you step in a hot, fresh dog turd while getting out of bed. You forgot to switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer last night, so now your work clothes are sopping wet. The writing on the wall is clear. Today just might suck. May as well stay home from work today, right?  

Of course, your boss will understand. They are known for being understanding and flexible people. Right. The obvious truth of the matter is that any place of employment that is even marginally concerned about turning a profit is not going to be brimming with compassion about your no-show. Employers are not well known for caring about your excuses, and nor should they be. After all, they have a nice piece of paper outlining your terms of employment (that you signed, by the way) clearly stating the days and times that you are required to show up for work. Not doing so without a damn good reason produced well in advance is not acceptable.

And any reasoning human (which are in admittedly short supply) understands this and will, without hesitation, clean the dog doo-doo from betwixt their toes and haul it in to work. That is just what you do. Not doing so is out of the question because not doing so makes you an unreliable person and liable to be fired. Some may even go so far as to label this a character flaw.

Now, keep this in mind and slightly shift the topic a bit to that of your training schedule. Do you see the leap I am about to make? I bet you do. It is not a far gap to bridge.

Let's say that you told yourself that you would train 3 days per week when you began your training. Let's also say that today happens to be one of those 3 glorious days. Hallelujah. Now, assume that today was rough. Your wonderful boss gave you the work that your pinhead co-worker isn't getting done. You also had to clean the aforementioned poop from the spaces between your little piggies, and likely from under your toenails as well. The carpet now clearly needs cleaning, because we can't have a brown stain on your wife's new white carpet. To top all of that off, you now need to get the dog re-homed because this is the third time this has happened.

Because of all of this, you had to stay late at work to get everything done. Nothing sounds worse than lifting heavy weights as soon as you get home. A cold beer (or three) sounds much better. But today is still a training day. So what do you do? Is showing up to train any different from showing up to work? I'd argue, yes, but not for the reasons you may initially think.

Most find that the promises they make to themselves hold less weight than those made to others, such as your employer in the above example. Most people would also be wrong. The promises you make to others are important, yes. And you should absolutely follow through and do what you say every time. But, you should maintain that very same, strict standard with the obligations that you make to yourself.

After all, why should your best be reserved for other people? Why keep inviolate appointments on behalf of other people, but neglect your own interests and goals? I know that training is hard. Duh. It takes a big, brass set (females are included here, too) to keep adding weight to the bar and it doesn't get easier if you are doing it right. Hard days compound the difficulty.

But breaking promises to yourself is just as bad as to your employer or anyone else. Actually, it may be worse. Because following through for others while being lax on yourself only ensures moving others closer to their hopes and dreams while delaying your own. Do not let there be a double standard for your reliability. For that, I think we can conclude, is truly a character flaw.