“You can have results or excuses, not both.” – Anonymous
We may not like to admit it but we’ve all made excuses in life. Some of us still try and make excuses from time to time. We say things like, we don’t have time to work out. It costs too much to eat healthy food. Waking up early is not possible. Usually, we make excuses to avoid doing things that we don’t like or because we find stepping out of our comfort zone too difficult. To put it simply, we take the easy way out by making excuses as these explanations make us feel better, even if only for a short time. Think about it, who doesn’t like a little more time to sleep?
What we don’t realise, however, is that it obstructs our growth and keeps us from fulfilling our potential. What’s more, we end up passing opportunities that might take our careers to new heights. We feel lazy and tend to procrastinate instead of actually doing something. Excuses are our way of rationalising our behaviour, even when they are wrong. It is important to understand that the more we make excuses, the harder it is to get things done.
If we don’t control our urge to make excuses, we will soon be too afraid to try new things or too lazy to take a step towards personal growth. It’s a habit that needs to be broken. Wondering how? Here are a few tips that can help you to stop making excuses.
Take responsibility for your mistakes
It’s easier to shift blame or come up with excuses when you make a mistake or fail at something. Most of the time, you call it ‘bad luck’ but it is mostly a task half done or quickly completed. It’s because you weren’t able to and not because other factors were responsible. The harsh truth is you lacked the talent, energy or the necessary skills to complete the job.
When you learn to take responsibility for your mistakes—you take a step towards recognising your shortcomings. This way, you not only work on improving yourself but also feel empowered to take charge of your life.
Pick yourself up and try again
Failures can be devastating. Having put so much effort into something and seeing it not work can trample one’s spirits or zeal. Some may never want to work that hard again and resort to making excuses to get out of new opportunities.
However, this hinders your growth. To stop this self-sabotaging behaviour, you need to learn to pick yourself up and try again. This is what separates winners from losers – they don’t give up. They learn from their failures and move on. In fact, failures allow them to learn more about themselves, of what they are capable of.
Winners learn to push their limits and achieve success in life. So stop making excuses and start getting work done.
Focus on your strengths
Knowing what you are good at and where you struggle gives you a better understanding of how to operate. However, while it’s good to be aware of your weaknesses, focusing on them too much can make you feel disheartened and defeated. This negativity often leads to the habit of making excuses because you fixate on what you can’t do.
To turn this around, focus on your strengths and build on them. Your strengths are abilities you can leverage and improve on. For instance, if you are looking at career options, narrow down on jobs that are based on the things you know you are good at.
When you know what you excel at, you can aim higher.
Take responsibility for your mistakes, pick yourself up and try again, focus on your strengths, stop overthinking, change your habits, set goals, and stop comparing yourself to others.
Taking responsibility for mistakes eliminates the need for excuses. When you acknowledge your errors and their impact, you can learn from them and work towards rectifying the situation
Focusing on your strengths fosters a positive mindset and self-confidence.
Comparing yourself to others can lead to self-doubt and excuses for not measuring up. Embracing your uniqueness and focusing on your personal growth journey allows you to set realistic expectations and stay committed to your own progress.
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