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One of my favorite speakers for motivation by the name of Les Brown once said,
“the graveyard is the richest place on the earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that will never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cure’s they will never discover it, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep up keep with the problem, or determined to carry out their dream.”
MIND. BLOWN.
Think of the many empty promises you’ve made to yourself over the years.
You’ve been conditioned to wait. Wait until you get more money. Wait until graduation. Wait until you turn a certain age. Wait until the anniversary. Wait until you feel comfortable. WAIT. WAIT. WAIT.
Do you know what happens while you are waiting?
1 year turns into 3 years. 3 turns into 5 years. 5 years turn into 10 years that you’ve spent on a hamster wheel in the SAME place running and running and getting absolutely nowhere. Dreams still deferred.
Les Brown’s quote reminded me that we get no do-overs. Life is not this video game where you can start all over from the beginning. Those years are gone. That time has passed.
The truth is, making excuses is much easier than actually taking action or solving a problem. Your excuses for not fulfilling your goals is in essence a CHOICE you are making out of fear or perhaps even laziness. Excuses cannot pay bills. Excuses cannot create legacies. Excuses cannot build dreams.
Did you know that when you make excuses, it’s like trapping yourself in this mental prison? And this mental prison is one that is amplified with fear, uncertainty, and negativity about what direction to take in your life. A lot of us think that excuses can protect us from the unknown or certain consequences. But many times, all its doing is holding us back from fulfilling our purpose. Excuses also encourage ‘victim’ mentality, which leads people to blame everyone or everything around them for circumstances instead of looking inward and taking responsibility for one’s own actions.
Do you make excuses for why you ‘can’t’ do something? How often does the word “I can’t” come out of your mouth? Think about how tough it is to live an “I can’t” type of existence and what this has done to block opportunities for greatness. The next time you are about to make an excuse ask this question:
WHAT IS THE COST OF LIVING A LIFE RULED BY EXCUSES?
Let’s disrupt the awful pattern of making excuses. First and foremost, awareness and acknowledgement that there is an issue is the first step to changing any habit.
IDENTIFY THE EXCUSES YOU MAKE ON A REGULAR BASIS
Excuses give us permission to avoid doing something that we don’t want to do. In other words, what are you constantly putting off? Think of the certain commitments you have or decisions that cause you to procrastinate. I’ll be honest. This is challenging, because many people downplay their excuses. There are usually several reasons you choose to delay improving yourself or helping others or even tackling those important to-do items. If you don’t tap into WHY, your actions will continue to hurt you.
IDENTIFY YOUR WEAK SPOTS
I said it before and I’ll say it again, excuses are tied to fear and fear is tied to lack of confidence. Think about it. When you’re clear, you have more confidence and therefore have no problems with taking action. A lot of times people make excuses because they don’t feel they are qualified (smart, talented, capable, etc.) enough to succeed in an area. Other instances include making excuses out of pure laziness or lack of interest. Some people hate cleaning up and doing laundry. But once they identify their weaknesses, then solutions present itself – like paying a cleaning service to come every two weeks and taking their clothes to a cleaner’s. Instead of feeling guilty about it and letting your space suffer, you can accept that it’s not a strength. It may be a necessity (clean clothes and home) and certainly a priority, but you can find smart ways to address it instead of making excuses for why it’s not being cleaned.
HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE
Motivational speaker Eric Thomas has stated on several occasions that saying “I don’t have time” or “I can’t make the time,” really means it’s not a priority for you. It’s common for people to allow an excuse to trump being honest. Suddenly the excuses are piling up and you’ve dug yourself into this trap that feels impossible to escape. So many of us are not willing to accept truth. Instead, we find various (and may I say humorously inventive) ways of justifying excuses. Find ways to keep yourself accountable and rewards help as well. The choice is always YOURS to make. Never forget it.
I know you have dreams of doing extraordinary things like writing best-selling novels, building a successful startup, traveling the world, sharing a mission, delivering communities from poverty and much more.
Yet, the distractions of the world make it so easy to waste time on things that don’t matter. Distractions and excuses cause disconnect between you and your purpose. The fear, doubt, self-sabotage tends to overshadow intentions and can dim your light.
And if I can be really honest, a lot of us are scared of the work. Moguls didn’t get to where they are by half-stepping. They made accomplishments by being consistent even when life throws curve balls. They don’t care about naysayers. They don’t settle. They know their worth.
So, how aggressive have you been in pursuit of your vision? Stop letting excuses get in your way on any scale.
This is YOUR TIME. You are not here by accident. Stop undervaluing yourself and downplaying your greatness. That super potential lying dormant inside of you needs to emerge.
From this day forward, I want you to chase after your wildest hopes and dreams with an eager urgency. Show up prepared. Eliminate excuses. The only deposits I want you to make are BOLD FACED BENJAMINS.
What do you think?