I used to have personalized plates for my car that read NOXQSES (No Excuses).
At that time, we were building our first business and working in full commission sales.
The plates were a daily reminder to me to stop making Excuses because I am a master at Self Handicapping!
This is a behavior we express that derails our Purpose & Passion.
It is an easy distraction we use to prevent us from achieving our goal, but it really comes from an unconscious desire to protect our Ego.
The more Afraid, Anxious, or Ashamed we are likely to feel, the more we will make Excuses to protect our Egos.
Excuses shift the focus from us to an external source that we can blame our failure on.
A life of Excuse making will undermine your Brand & Accountability, which makes other people see you as a liar, ineffective and arrogant.
He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. – Benjamin Franklin
So, what are Excuses?
Excuses are lies we tell ourselves about people, events, and circumstances.
They are made up reasons we use to defend and protect our behavior, to delay acting, or as a way of neglecting our responsibility.
Excuses are our way of placing the blame on an Internal problem (ME) on an external condition.
Most of our Excuses fall into one or more of the following:
· Fear of Failure
· Fear of Success
· Fear of Change
· Fear of the Unknown
· Fear of Responsibility
· Fear of Embarrassment
My biggest Fear from this list and the cause of most of my Excuses is the Fear of Success!
Making Excuses are like taking pills to lose weight. You might lose weight, but the underlying problem is STILL THERE.
The pills do nothing to fix your way of thinking about and dealing with food and weight gain will persist until you figure out how to overcome your fear.
There are many ways to work on your Fears and in turn eliminate most of your Excuses.
1. Admit you are afraid. This is the First step in accepting responsibility for your life!
2. Spend time in Prayer. Get Wisdom, Strength, and Hope from the One who created you.
3. Get Perspective – read biographies of people who have overcome impossible odds.
4. Seek Accountability. Good Mentors will not accept EXCUSES.
5. Excuses are Highly Contagious. Practice Social Distancing from those who are infected.
6. Stop Comparing and Competing with others. You have your own Purpose & Passion.
7. Leave the Past in the Past. Learn from it and it HELPS you. Live there and it HURTS you.
From now on the only time, you make an Excuse is when you belch or pass gas in public. Then it is acceptable to say Excuse Me!
Find Your Passion…Find Your Life!