This thought came to me last night in prayer.
Why haven't I gone back to get my master's degree? Why haven't I gotten control over my eating habits? Why does the balance in my savings account look the same as it did last year?
What's my excuse?
Being the intelligent person that I am, I probably have some pretty good excuses...
"The timing isn't right." "It's not my season." "I've been focusing on a number of other CRITICAL issues." (Any of these sound familiar?)
My cousin once told me that, "Excuses are the tools of the incompetent!"
I realize that some things take time. And I also realize that there are only 24 hours in a day.
But I also realize that excuses won't get you any closer to your goals and dreams.
So, stop making excuses and start taking action!
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9 comments:
To continue your cousin's quote: "Excuses are the tools of the incompetent that build monuments to nothing, and those who specialize in them are seldom good at anything else." My issue isn't excuses as much as fear. I'm a creature of habit and schedule and I'm often "afraid" to step out of my box. I haven't purchased a home yet because I'm afraid of the expense associated with buying in the DC area. I'm afraid of leaving the area in which I currently live (but can't afford). I'll be 35 in a few weeks and I've decided that I won't be in the same place (literally and figuratively) once I hit 36. So, I am actively looking for a home and am now open to exploring other areas. I have decided to step out of my box and not let fear of the unknown keep me stagnant. I may end up living in a crackhouse, but it will be my own. :-)
~Cass
Cass,
Thanks for being so honest. (Also, thanks for providing the rest of the quote.) To me, excuses can be legitimate or illegitamate. So, in my opinion, fear is a legitimate excuse--but an excuse nonetheless. If we are wise enough to identify the hurdles, we have to be courageous and determined enough to overcome the hurdles. I applaud your resolution...and I'm sure you won't be living in a crackhouse!
Here's the way I look at it: I am ultimately responsible for MY life! I am so sick of hearing people blame everybody and everything else. Either their childhood or their financial situation or current responsibilities. We all have some limitations, but in spite of our limitations we have to tap into our inner strength (God) that allow us to overcome ANY obstacle.
One thing we also need to look at when it come to excuses is, sometimes it is the enviroment we were raised in, and unconciously we are doing what we were acustom to seeing and hearing,it becomes a learned behavior. and in that case one would need to look around them and see what behavior they were around and stop the cycle of excuses. how many people do you know who have talked themselves out of so many great ideas. I myself can name a few, and it's not that far from home. remember the quote the apple doesnt fall that far from the tree.
Excuses validate two things, one, your going to accomplish your goals or two, your going to continue to make up excuses to support your disappointments.
Excuses really are created to buy time, yes some are valid but for the must part they are like a virus, once you've used one than you have to create another just to cover the first.
However Brian's point is well taken in regards that excuses can be beneficial to us if we examine ourselves in the right order.
My ending thought is "Remember your excuses because someone else has".
I personally feel that this goes back to a piece you did a long time ago on Personal responsibility. Most people find external reasons as to why they don't do something. We have to find ways to overcome our challenges. I always say where theres a will theres a way.
Quote,
It is better to have tried and have failed, than never to have tried at all...
One of my little encouragement pieces whenever something doesnt quite work out, this quote encourages me to pick myself up, dust my self off, and start all over again. Never to give up.
When I was in my late teens, I made a time table as to what I wanted out of life and what age I would accomplish these goals . That worked for me because it kept me focused and determined to do what I had to do within a set period of time.
I had a time table for undergrad school. Check, I accomplished that. I had a time table to complete my Masters degree. Check that was completed. I had a time table to own a home, and check that was done. I have a time table for most things. One thing that I find that as I have gotten older is that somethings I just dont plan anymore.
Why because I have checked off most of my goals , and just dont need to plan as much. In fact, I find that I have to make more goals just to keep my self busy.
I find that I am a planner and I think that I have always been a planner. My mother was a very big planner. She worked a budget every month, and showed us how, and I may have picked that up from her. I write everything down. Even up to the work that I have to do tomorrow, its planned already and tagged on my desk. It works because it keeps my mind free to think about other things because I know that what ever I have to do, its already planned, and has a specific date on it..
Sister Elliott
I love that quote, "Excuses"...I often say it to my fifth graders and of course, provide explanation of what it means. There are not to many things that I find myself making excuses for...but I am a proscratinator. I love the excitement of getting things done just under the wire...always meeting the deadline or the goal. If I write down my intentions or goals, I usually make them happen...if I don't have a clear plan then nothing ever really becomes of what I hope for.
Cassandra, fear is usually the thing that keeps us from taking that next step forward. We are afraid of being failures. Step out on faith...Plan your work and then work your plan. Sounds like youhave some pretty attainable goals in sight. All the best to you! I think the worst thing anyone could do is not give a dream or an ambition a try!
I agree that planning is a strategic move to get things done, but I too tend to procrastinate and get things done at the last moment.
Got to change that for the new year and change my ways to include more planning for my life
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