The Term “Good Excuse” Is Life’s Biggest Oxymoron
Posted on November 23, 2007
Just as desire comes from within, so do excuses, but the difference between them is huge. Desire, together with Discipline and Dedication, form the three Ds of success, which are the building blocks of financial independence. Excuses, on the other hand, are like termites that will devour success from within if you allow them to do so. The term “good excuse” is life’s biggest oxymoron. There is no such thing as a good excuse. As long as you set realistic goals, the only reason for not reaching them is you. That may sound harsh, but it’s true. If your commitment is lacking, you will find yourself coming up with all kinds of excuses to justify failure.
Most people never set meaningful goals, and the few who do are often reluctant to share them. Sharing your goals exposes you to ridicule, especially if you lack the commitment to see them through to a successful completion. As a result, people often start making excuses as soon as obstacles begin to appear. I believe this is because they confuse excuses with reasons. Their excuses are nothing but face-saving ways to avoid having to admit they lack the commitment and willingness to learn how to overcome the obstacles.
Excuses start simple enough and creep into all walks of life. You oversleep, so you call your employer and say, “My alarm clock didn’t go off and I overslept so I’ll be a few minutes late today.” Then on the way to work you get caught in heavy traffic, you end up having to park at the far side of the parking lot because all the nearby spaces are already taken by people who got to work on time, then you have trouble getting into the building because you rushed out and left your security pass at home.
You’ve just arrived and it’s already been a rough day. As you pass the boss’s office, you stick your head in the door and say, “I’ve finally made it; you wouldn’t believe what I’ve been through this morning. It started when my clock didn’t go off, and then I got caught in a terrible traffic jam, and blah blah blah.”
Do you think the boss cares? No! All the excuses do is help you rationalize in your own mind why you weren’t at work when you were supposed to be. Even if you had 50 excuses, it doesn’t change the fact that you were late to work.
Achieving success in any endeavor, financial or otherwise, works the same way. Either you achieve what you set out to accomplish or you don’t. If you don’t, all the excuses in the world won’t change that. How many times have you heard people say, “I would have done _____ (you fill in the blank), but�” Whatever follows the “but” is usually an excuse, because after careful analysis most people find it is something they could have controlled.
The difference between an excuse and a reason is who controls the situation. Obstacles over which you have no control or ability to overcome are reasons, but they are few and far between. Denny Chipollini of Skippack, Pennsylvania had his legs severed in a car accident. Doctors reattached them, but eventually his left leg had to be amputated due to massive injury and infection. Most anyone would agree that this was a reason he would never be a runner, but four years later he ran a five-kilometer race on his artificial leg and soon afterward ran the Pittsburg, New York City, and San Diego marathons. Today his motto is “no excuses and no limits.”
Doesn’t that put excuses into perspective? That’s an example of why I say legitimate reasons are few and far between. If you aren’t where you want to be financially, the best way to get there is to acknowledge the fact that excuses are inexcusable. If you fail to reach your goals, all the excuses in the world won’t change that. The only thing that will change it is eliminating the excuses and creating the desire to be successful. Understand that setbacks, while frustrating, are merely part of the learning process and life’s way of testing to see if you have the three Ds of success.
Here’s a tip! Raise your right hand and take a solemn pledge that from this day forward you will never, never, ever, blame anyone else for what’s going on in your life. You alone are responsible for setting your life’s goals, and you alone are responsible for attaining them. We all participate in the game of life. Successful people play the game with the attitude that it’s not over until they win. As soon as an obstacle or a problem comes between where they are and where they want to be, they immediately start looking for a way over, under, around or through it. What they don’t do is throw up their hands, start making excuses and quit.
Granted some people face more difficulties than others, but solving problems and overcoming obstacles exercises your mind and makes you mentally stronger just as lifting weights and doing other exercises strengthens your muscles and makes you physically stronger. The longer you keep at it, and the fewer excuses you make, the more successful you will become and the less fear you will have of tackling new ventures. You have the tools to succeed if you will just put them to work.
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