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People are notorious for making subtle compromises that result in using excuses as an alternative for personal responsibility.
It's all about "remaining comfortable".
We avoid challenges that demand personal culpability and hard work in favor of convenience. We justify convenience by making excuses.
Fear of failure, social comparisons, lack of motivation or the perception of inadequate resources contribute to people giving up on their efforts to improve.
Ironically, all these “excuses” are preventable.
Many people spend their entire life blaming outside sources for their inability to succeed.
“When you're good at making excuses, it's hard to excel at anything else”.
To apprehend our true potential use these 12 steps to stop making excuses:
No more comparisons
By focusing on people that have achieved what we aspire to achieve, we concentrate on weakness not our strengths. This creates negative feelings and relies on assumptions as a method of evaluating our capability based on the "perception of success", we see in someone else. Focus on you, don’t worry about everyone else.
No more fear
People restricted by fear assume a dramatic change will compromise their current level of comfort. We like what’s easy and predictable. Until we embrace discomfort, we will never reach our full potential. Start small but begin confronting your fears.
No more blaming
One of the biggest reasons people never achieve greatness, is because they blame everyone else for their failures. Believing outside circumstances, systems, people, parents, politicians or pandemics are the reason we can't succeed, extricates personal responsibility and the power of choices in favor of surrendering control to influences outside our jurisdiction.
No more irresponsibility
Once we stop blaming everyone else, we recognize the importance of personal responsibility. That includes taking ownership of our destiny, acting on our ambitions, and accepting the consequences. It also includes indirect responsibility which places higher value on human life. We become less selfish and focus on cultivating better character.
No more inaction
Action requires risk and it also demands taking the first step. Once we step beyond excuses, we embrace the hard work of making our dreams a reality. No more time for excuses. Action is what puts our dreams in motion.
“Once your excuses are gone, you will simply have to settle for being awesome”.
No more thinking small
Most people give up too soon because they lack long term perspective. Thinking big requires a long-term vision and realistic expectations. It’s ok to have big dreams, but without realistic action steps and a long-term view, frustration and defeat are inevitable.
No more fear of mistakes
We need to get comfortable with setbacks and not perceive them as fatal. Mistakes are learning opportunities and not a reflection of our ability. Being able to learn from mistakes and not make the same mistake twice is essential for success.
No more weakness
Understand your weaknesses, but don’t dwell on them. I am an advocate of focusing on our strengths. We don’t have to be good at everything, we just need to be good at the right things. Successful people surround themselves with other people that complement their weaknesses. If there’s a weakness you want to change, focus on the process not the barriers.
No more bad attitude
The research on positive attitude is undeniable. Change our attitude and change our life. Focus on the journey! Learn to love the process and get comfortable with taking action. Adopt a positive attitude and our motivation will shift in a favorable direction. If you’re struggling with this it's ok to ask for help.
No more lack of belief
If we don’t belief in our self, there’s little chance anyone else will either. If we have a goal, we need to embrace it and believe in our self. We must picture our self-achieving our goals then set off to accomplish them. Remember times in the past we set goals and achieved them is a great way to create positive momentum to push forward.
No more limitations
Picture your success and refuse to let anyone or anything take that from you. Visualize your pride and sense of accomplish when you satisfy your goal, and be realistic about what’s required to achieve it. Don’t focus on limitations concentrate on solutions that help us overcome the obstacles.
No more perfection
Like many high achievers I had a perfectionist mentality for years. I used to celebrate the idea I was a “perfectionist”. This sounds great, but being a perfectionist forces us to focus on mistakes and dwell on imperfections. Being comfortable with imperfection shifts our emphasis away from “judgement” and helps us focus on “improvement”. That includes being compassionate with ourselves and making a commitment to learning.
“Never make excuses. Your friends don't need them, and your foes won't believe them”. John Wooden
Sum it up
What are your suggestions for overcoming excuses? Share your thoughts in the comments section and please like and share this article. I love learning from you as well.
About Steve:
Steve Wohlenhaus is CEO of Weatherology, the leading company in the world at disseminating audio weather information. Steve began his career as a major market television weather anchor in Minneapolis, where he received several Emmy Awards for science programming. Steve is an author and host of the podcast program Anatomy of Success. Reach out and connect with me on LinkedIn. Learn more about my work by clicking on any picture in this article!
