Benjamin Franklin is credited as having said that those who are good at making excuses are hardly good for anything else; and he was right.

 

Ask yourself this: how often do you try to explain why you have not pursued that cherished dream you’ve always held? Maybe you’ve always fantasized about starting your own business and cutting cords with the employment world. However, you seem to always have a good reason why you are not as successful as you wish to be.

 

Let it be known, this behavior is what living by excuses is. An excuse is an extremely poor substitute for not living the life you’ve always dreamt of. In reality, it is simply a justification for laziness; a way to explain your contentment with a state of things you don’t even enjoy.

 

So, if you find that you’re always coming up with an excuse for not doing what you love or chasing a dream you hold, understand that you’re letting your laziness control you. And that needs to change if you want more out of life. You see, nature is not equipped to give you your dream business when all you can do is sit back and explain your way out of doing what it takes to achieve your ultimate goals in life.

 

Effects on Your Professional Life

 

Because of the use of excuses along with procrastination and laziness, most people find themselves dragging through the days and weeks in misery at their day jobs. In fact, most people readily admit to hating their 9 to 5 job schedules. Surprisingly, many of them are more than content to keep coming up with excuses as to why they have subjected themselves to this mind-numbing routine for years and even decades. How many times have you heard someone say they HAVE to find a new job, they HAVE to get out of there, yet they fail to take action?

 

That is because they have found excuses to fool themselves into thinking that their situations don’t justify their need to chase what really matters to them. And just because these people do work hard at their jobs, it doesn’t mean they aren’t lazy. Laziness is a word that also entails not having the motivation to change your circumstances and follow the path to a more successful life.

 

Effects on Your Personal Life

 

This behavior can put a huge damper on your personal life as well. A perfect example is people that make a New Year’s Resolutions that they never follow through with. How many people do you know that have decided to lose weight year in and year out; and yet continue to do next to nothing to make their dreams of having a healthier life a reality? It’s been said that 80% of New Year’s Resolutions fail by February! It’s time to beat the statistics!

 

Stop the Laziness; Remain Motivated and Determined

 

Many people lack the motivation to pursue their goals because they are their own worst critics. If you find yourself saying, “I can’t do this because I am not like this and that”, then you are a victim of this self-destructive habit. Believing in yourself, however ridiculous you might be to others, is the greatest trick to remaining motivated and determined.

 

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.”

-Henry Ford

 

Bad Habits to Eliminate

 

One way to avoid excuses is to stop comparing yourself to everyone else. Look at yourself with confidence and tell yourself that you will succeed. Stop saying that most people in your position are incapable of pursuing the sort of dreams you harbor. YOU are not most people!

 

While at it, you should avoid the habit of thinking that people get to where they are through blind luck. If you were more enthusiastic about the people whose success you envy, you would realize that they left their comfort zones, and worked against the many reasons not to pursue the goals they wanted in order to meet with the success they enjoy today.

 

Good Habits to Pick Up to Avoid the Negative Power of Excuses

 

Some of the things to you can do to prevent excuses from taking over and and leading to an unfulfilling life, is to take a greater interest in your dreams and desires. For instance, if you want to start a business, maintain an healthy desire to turn it into reality by learning as much as you can about launching a business. This will make the goal seem more achievable, and that will ensure that the motivation to follow through does not fade away.

 

You also need to work on responsibility. When you set a goal and fail to achieve it, take responsibility for your failure. This will keep you on your toes and motivated to succeed in the next goal. An excuse will give you a reason not to succeed, and people often find excuses long before they give their goals a fair chance.

 

So, when you fail to achieve something, cut out the excuses, take responsibility. Better yet, work on correcting your mistake. You will find yourself losing the temptation to come up with reasons why NOT, ultimately leading to great success in your business life and your personal life.

 

Success is a Choice

 

Excuses help justify the devastating personality trait of laziness. This is why people with great talent often attain less success than less talented people with a greater motivation to pursue their dreams. Therefore, ditching the practice of making excuses is the greatest step towards achieving your wildest dreams.

 

There are many things that can block your path to the future and the success you desire; but laziness, manifested in form of excuses, is probably the most common obstacle. Lazy people are very good at making excuses that justify the reason they are not more successful.

 

You can break the cycle; instead of coming up with reasons why you can’t, search for reasons why you CAN. Make the change and turn your dreams into reality.

 

Remember this, we will all fail many times, but it is once you turn to excuses and quit that you become a true failure. In other words, you will never truly fail until you quit.