Excuses – How To Stop Making Them Part 1
The first step towards improving your life and getting rid of the awful habit of making excuses all the time is by acknowledging that you are, in fact, doing this to yourself. Start noticing when you are doing it. The more aware you become that you are doing it, the greater the chance that you can change this habit.
Let’s look realistically at some of the more commonly used excuses and what you can do to start changing the way you think about them:
I don’t have time
We all have the same 24 hours in the day. Give something else up, get smarter with your time, prioritise. Look at the amount of time you spend/waste on your phone, watching Netflix…. If you want it, and it is important to you, you will make the time.
Often scheduling in your action really helps. Having a fixed time, and duration gives you a clear plan of action. It also makes it more uncomfortable when you make an excuse to not do it – the more you can feel like you are letting yourself down, the more fired up you may become to change your habits to ones that work for you.
Procrastination and laziness
These two traits are some of the worst things that you can do to yourself, especially when you are younger. The more you procrastinate, the lower are your chances of getting the work done on time or when you have planned to fit it in. Plus, they often come with the feeling of regret, panicking or self-pitying. Start accepting and acknowledging that this is a negative influence on your life.
Embrace fear and failure
If you won’t confront the things you are afraid of, you will be stuck in your comfort zone for the rest of your life, missing out on many beautiful things along the way.
Regarding failure, this is something that happens to all of us. It might be failing to stick your commitment, making excuses, eating that treat, having more wine…you know what failure means to you in terms of your personal goals. So, instead of constantly being alert about it, make sure that when it happens you are ready to get up and try again.
Don’t over think
It’s the first mistake that we make when we are confronted with a decision or a time to take action. We tend to over think things, until we give up and make an excuse instead. We also convince ourselves that the plan needs to be perfect, or we need to do something else before we can start. The key thing is to just start – when action is needed – stop thinking about it and just do it!
Take responsibility
You are the only one that has control over your destiny and actions. If you want it – you need to take full responsibility to make sure it happens. No matter what has happened to you in the past, your future is up to you. Own it.
Uncover your limiting beliefs
People who make excuses likely have certain limiting beliefs that are holding them back. These are the stories we tell ourselves about who we are. If you believe deep down that you’re not deserving of success or that you don’t have the inner strength to overcome failure, you’ll continue making excuses to avoid going after what you really want.
Change your story
Once you’ve identified your limiting beliefs, you can change your story and stop making excuses for good. Do this by identifying negative self-talk and replacing any limiting beliefs with empowering ones. When you change your words – and your story – you change your life.
Having some coaching can really help you with your limiting beliefs and creating new ones – in fact it is one of the best and most effective investments you can make for yourself.
Read more Excuses – How To Stop Making Them Part 2
