Stop Making Excuses

If there was one thing you could change in your life, what would it be? Would you go back to college to further your career? Start a new career? Lose a few pounds? Quit smoking? Get out of debt?

Now… for the million-dollar question: What is really stopping you?

Oftentimes, we talk ourselves out of achieving our goals or making our dreams come true because we are entirely too busy coming up with the why not instead of pushing forward and making it happen.

Excuses, excuses. They are abundant. We can pluck them out of thin air without even realizing we are doing it. It becomes habit. It becomes a mindset. But you can stop making excuses and start developing a new mindset!

Reasons vs. Excuses

There is a major difference in a reason and an excuse. A reason is an explanation of how or why something is the way it is. An excuse, on the other hand, simply exists to justify, blame, or defend an action.

Example 1: You didn’t get a project completed by a deadline at work.

• Excuse: Your life is very busy, your car is in the shop which made getting to work a challenge and your dog died three weeks ago.
• Reason: You procrastinated. End of story.

Example 2: Your new diet was a complete failure and you ended up gaining weight.

• Excuse: The directions weren’t clear and your family didn’t support you.
• Reason: You neglected to do the research and overate. End of story.

Get the idea? If happiness and success aren’t your thing, keep plugging excuses in for reasons.

What Do We Gain from Excuses?

Nothing good, that’s for sure. They only thing they really provide is a false reassurance. “I gave it a go and look what happened” type of attitude that promotes a stagnant, stuck-in-a-rut lifestyle. Just look at some of the ways excuses impact our lives and see for yourself.

• We focus on the negative and can’t see a great opportunity staring us right in the face.
• Excuses eat away at our self-confidence, self-esteem and self-worth.
• They are the main reason for our own failures and lack of success.
• Excuses prevent us from cultivating meaningful relationships.
• Excuses stop us from living the life we want, and the life we deserve.

How Do We Break the Cycle?

Let’s say you’d like to start a business, but all you can come up with are excuses on why it won’t work. You don’t have the time. You can’t afford it. You don’t have the right connections. It’s not the right time. You aren’t smart enough. You don’t have the right skillset.

See how easy they just flow out into the wide open and engulf you? You’ve already quit on the biggest dream of your life… before you even really got started.

Set a Goal

Write it down. Make a dream board. Don’t allow a single excuse to creep up. You don’t have time for excuses, you’ve got plans to make!

Make a Plan

Once your goal is set, now you’ve got to outline your plan. Don’t just jump of the deep end all willy-nilly and think that’s going to be enough research and effort. This is something you really, really want.

Give it the time and attention it deserves. The time and attention your life deserves.

Download: Planning for a Successful Year

Develop a Routine

We all have a life, right? Some of us are juggling more than one job, a household and community responsibilities all at once. Set a reasonable schedule and live by it. If you can only spend 30 minutes a day on your lunch break, do it every single day, without fail. No excuses! As your routine becomes habit, your excuses wither away.

Don’t Look Back

Hey, you’re going to make mistakes. It’s human nature. Nobody is perfect, so don’t beat yourself up about it. Don’t look back. Can you change the past? Nope. So, leave the past where it belongs and point your focus on the future!

Be Persistent and Patient

Effort goes a long way, but you’ve also got to be persistent. Look at your progress. Reward yourself. And above all, be patient.

It’s All in Your Mindset

How do you climb a staircase? One step at a time. Apply that same concept to your goals. If you view it as a giant obstacle you are more likely to allow excuses to stop you dead in your tracks. Break your goals down into steps and take one step at a time. When you complete a step, move on to the next. And then the next.

Not only will you find more success in reaching your target, you’re able to enjoy the process because you aren’t hyper-focused solely on the end result.

In conclusion, stop making excuses and start developing a new mindset. Changing your mindset will probably take some time and concerted effort. After all, you didn’t develop your current mindset overnight. But that doesn’t have to be the end of your story.

You’ve got so much potential! You just need to stop making excuses and make it happen!

Remember, you don’t have to go it alone. If you’d like support on your transformational journey, book a 1-on-1 conversation with me here and we’ll talk about how coaching can boost your results!