Excuses – How To Stop Making Them Part 2
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 more commonly used excuses and what you can do to start changing the way you think about them:
Define your vision – what do you really want?
Examine what it is that you really want. Create a really strong image in your head, see yourself there, really think it, feel it and believe it. Writing it down, or having a little poster somewhere in your house can help or a little mantra that you repeat to yourself. When you feel an excuse coming upon you, bring up this vision and make it win the battle.
Have clear goals
When you start doing something, you need to have a clear goal. That goal has to bring you some kind of satisfaction upon reaching it, thus motivating you to put the work in. When you have the proper goals, make sure you find the proper motivation as well, because without these two, you will be stuck with your excuses and you won’t really achieve anything.
Keep in mind, however, that both the goal and the motivation need to be realistic and measurable. Just having a goal without it being specific enough, is the same as not having one at all. Even small goals can bring you huge changes. The key is to keep trying and to not give up.
If you have problems sticking to your goals, start by having really small achievable ones. As you build confidence, prove to yourself that you can do it, and start changing your mindset and beliefs, make these goals bigger and bigger.
Don’t compare yourself to others
Forget about what you think everyone else is doing and thinking. Don’t feel threatened by people who you perceive are smashing their goals. You do it on your terms and in your way. Every day you can start to take small steps towards your personal goal. Every step counts, as eventually you will get there. You need to celebrate each small step as that is YOUR success.
Get support
The key to stop making excuses is to hold yourself accountable for your actions – but this isn’t always easy. Get support from a trusted friend, or your partner. Better still, join a group, or class or even better still – get yourself a coach.
Coaches have the experience, knowledge and training to keep you accountable and productive and to help you reprogramme your mindset and belief system for life.
So – when you notice an excuse forming, give them a little bit of your attention and love, pat them on the head, then give that love back towards YOU and what you want.
One trick is every time you hear and excuse, reply to it with “yes – and?”
I don’t have time – yes..and?
I’m too tired – yes…and?
I can’t be bothered – yes..and?
Don’t let your “later” become “never”, or your “maybe” to become a “no”. Be the model for yourself and others that shows you are in control despite what life is currently handing you. The sooner you realise that you have the potential to make things right and lead a much better and fulfilled life, the better it will turn out for you.
Next time when you are faced with a situation where you are required to take action, whether it’s something small or life-changing, think of how much you can actually achieve and go for it. Do not rely on excuses to get you anywhere in life, because they won’t.
They are just keeping you away from your own happiness. So why use them?
