What's The Truth about Making Excuses: It hurts our Potential
Photo by Mason McCall
We’ve all been there. You're late for work, haven’t hit the gym in a month, or forgot to call your mom back. What do we do? Make Excuses. They roll off the tongue faster than we can say, “It’s not my fault!” But let’s take a moment to pull back the curtain and get real about this habit that most of us have mastered like an art form.
Check out this week's Podcast 👇
Excuses: The Great Cop-Out
First things first, what exactly is an excuse? At its core, an excuse is just a clever story we tell ourselves and others to explain why something didn’t go as planned. It's like a little white lie we wrap in a bow of justification to make ourselves feel better. And let’s be honest—some of these excuses are downright laughable.
"I can't go to the gym today because my dog looks depressed."
"I didn’t do the report because the Moon is going to eclipse today."
"I was going to clean the house, but then I sat down, and, well...here we are."
Sound familiar? Sure, we all laugh about these, but behind the humor lies a sneaky little truth: excuses are often our way of dodging responsibility.
The Psychology of Excuses
Why do we make excuses? The answer is simple: because it’s easier to make up an excuse than facing the truth. Nobody likes to admit they’ve messed up, been lazy, or just didn’t prioritize something important. Making an excuse is like slapping a Band-Aid on the wound of accountability.
And let’s not forget about good old fear. Fear of failure, fear of judgment, fear of doing hard work. Excuses give us an out, that beautiful safety net to avoid putting ourselves out there. Instead of the chance of risking failure, we convince ourselves, “It just wasn’t the right time” or “I wasn’t ready in the first place.”
The Cost of Excuses
It is true that excuses might make us feel better in the short term, but they do come with a price tag. The more excuses we make, the further we drift from our goals. Let’s break it down:
They Stall Progress:
Your progress is put on hold each time you excuse yourself from accomplishing something. Excuses prevent you from achieving your goals, whether they be personal connections, professional aspirations, or physical objectives.
They Hurt Your Credibility:
People can only hear “I completely forgot” or “I’ll just do it tomorrow” so many times before they start doubting your reliability. Believe me and trust in what I say that no one wants to be known for being flaky, inconsistent or just downright unreliable.
They Keep You in Denial:
Excuses stop us from addressing the real issues. We can say that maybe the truth is we lack discipline, need to manage our time better, or as I mentioned earlier are afraid to fail. Excuses are like fog—using a smokescreen is a pretty good way at hiding the roadblocks we need to overcome.
How to Stop Making Excuses
Alright, enough with the doom and gloom. The good news is that excuses aren’t permanent. Yes, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You can kick the habit and take back control of your actions (and your life). Here’s how:
1. Call Yourself Out
The first step is admitting when you’re making excuses. Start to be honest with yourself. If you catch yourself saying, “I don’t have time,” ask, “Do I really not have time, or did I just spend two hours watching funny cat videos on YouTube?” Spoiler alert: it’s usually the cat videos.
2. Own Your Choices
Instead of blaming things like traffic, the weather, or your so called “busy schedule,” own up to your decisions. Missed the gym? Say, “I chose not to go to the gym today.” It sounds uncomfortable but empowering.
3. Set Realistic Goals
Once you have owned up to your choices, take small steps. Sometimes, we make excuses because we’ve set the bar too high. Instead of saying, “I’m going to run 10 miles every day,” start with, “I’ll start by walking for 15 minutes.” Small wins add up and leave less room for excuses.
4. Focus on the Why
Why do you want to accomplish your objective? Keep the wider picture in mind. If eating healthier is your objective, concentrate on feeling better and having more energy.—not just avoiding the judgmental side-eye from your doctor.
5. Forgive, but Don’t Forget
We all mess up sometimes, it happens and that’s okay. The key is to learn from it. If you made an excuse today, forgive yourself, but take a moment to reflect on how you can do better tomorrow.
Excuses vs. Reasons
Now, let’s clear up one thing: there’s a big difference between making excuses and having legitimate reasons.
Excuse: “I didn’t write my book because I wasn’t in the right mood.”
Reason: “I didn’t write my book because I was in the hospital for emergency surgery.”
Did you see the difference? In one case we are avoiding responsibility, while the other is an unavoidable circumstance. Sometimes things do happen beyond our control. The trick is being honest with yourself about which category you fall into.
Embracing Accountability
The truth is that accountability does not equate to perfection. It entails taking responsibility for your acts, growing from your errors, and going on. Something incredible occurs when you quit making excuses: you become aware of your own abilities.
Stop saying "I can't because..." Rather, you begin to say, "I'll try because..." or "I'll do it despite..." And believe me, that's a significant change in perspective.
The Humor in It All
Before we wrap this up, let’s not forget to laugh at ourselves. Excuses are a natural part of being human. Not allowing them to define ourselves is crucial. Hence, the next time you find yourself about to make an excuse, stop and ask yourself, is your excuse "out of this world ridiculous?" If so, perhaps it's time to accept responsibility and take action in the right direction.
Final Thoughts
Excuses might feel like our best friend in the moment, but they’re really just frenemies in disguise. They hold us back, keep us comfortable, and prevent us from reaching our full potential.
So, here’s to ditching the excuses, owning our choices, and laughing at ourselves along the way. Life’s too short to let a depressed dog or eclipsing Moon stand in the way of our dreams.
Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment below so we can engage in positive conversation and if you have not done so already Please Subscribe. You can also follow me on my podcast by clicking hereWise Mindset Guy Podcast
Very useful post... Thanks
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughts, much appreciated 👍
Delete