He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. – Benjamin Franklin
Have you ever wondered why some people are more successful than others? Why some people make more money, seem to live a happier life, and accomplish much more over the course of their lives?
We have all been there before, and many of us still question these thoughts. To answer all of the questions above, it’s because successful people don’t make excuses.
We all want to make more money, live a happier life, do good for the world around us, be fit and trim, but when it comes down to actually living this life, many of us become fearful. There is this fear we have of taking responsibility for our lives and our actions, so instead of actually taking this responsibility, we allow our excuses to consume our emotions.
We all know what we need to do in order to create the success that we want in our lives, but instead of striving to conquer our fears, we turn to the concept of “someday.”
Someday I will live a healthier life.
Someday I will find a job that I enjoy.
Someday I will make more money.
Until that someday turns into today, though, we are only preventing ourselves from living up to our full potential.
The thing about excuses is that they are all the same in the sense that they aren’t going to do any of us any good. Excuses are the number one killer to any and all success, and until we learn to overcome our excuses, our life tomorrow will resemble the life that we lived yesterday.
I used to be a freaking KING at making excuses. I was so good at making them that not after long I didn’t need to make them anymore because I quit getting invited to do things with others. To be fair, everybody knew what I was going to say, so they quit wasting their time even asking me.
Over time, though, my self-esteem really started to take a hit. I wondered why I wasn’t getting asked to go out with friends or to do things on the weekends, and worst of all, I started to listen to the excuses that I was making and quit believing that I was worthy of anything good in life.
I played life overly safe because I was scared. There, I said it… I WAS SCARED. I was scared of disappointing others, I was scared of looking at myself as a failure, and I was scared of actually having to work for the things that I wanted.
And I was like this way for years. All throughout my early 20’s I was this way, and to some extent, I still am this way. It wasn’t until I took a long hard look at myself in the mirror and wondered why I was so miserable that I realized how much I was sabotaging myself. I knew that if I wanted to live the life that I envisioned for myself, then it was time to man up and learn to overcome my fears.
While it wasn’t easy (and still isn’t), I am improving with each and every passing day. And today, I want to share with you some of the tips that have helped me to overcome my excuses, and things that I believe will help you to overcome your excuses as well.
4 Tips To Help With Overcoming Your Excuses
1. Acknowledge your fears and excuses.
The first thing you need to do to overcome any challenge in life is to accept the fact that there is a challenge to overcome. The more you live in denial, the harder it is going to be for you to actually make any progress.
2. Write down your goals.
What are some of the goals that you have for yourself but are allowing your fears to stop you from achieving? Write down some of the things that you want to achieve because not only will there be right there staring you in the face, but you will also be more motivated to overcome any negative emotion you may be experiencing towards these goals.
3. Understand that everybody fails.
Part of what has helped me the most has to take a deep dive into the lives of some of the successful individuals that I admire the more. When I look at their lives and wonder how they got to where they are, I am almost always reminded of the struggles and failures that they first endured.
Nobody who has achieved any amount of success has gotten to where they are without first enduring failure. Instead of coming up with excuses for why they can’t do something, they jump in headfirst and are willing to endure failure.
Those who are successful have found success only because of their will to take a chance on themselves, and because of their tenacity to get up when everyone else is willing to stay down.
4. Take action on your goals.
Now that you have some insight on how to manage your fears, it’s time to quit making excuses and take action. Taking action is the number one thing that you can do for yourself. Often times our fears and excuses lie inside of our thoughts, and it isn’t until we actually take action that we realize what we are truly capable of achieving.
Final Thoughts
There is always going to be an excuse for why you can’t do things in your life, but just remember that excuses aren’t going to get you from where you are to where you want to be. You have to be stronger than your greatest excuse.
Excuses stop you from achieving your goals, they stop you from reaching your full potential, and they stop you from living the life that you are meant to be living. But only if you allow them to. Believe in all that you are capable of achieving, and never let an excuse stop you from living the life you deserve to live.
Michael Bonnell
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