Most people have become quite creative in making up excuses to get ourselves out of doing something unpleasant, difficult or fearful. It could also be out of sheer laziness, or we simply do not want to commit to anything. Although excuses may at times be appropriate, excuses need to be avoided by all means.
Excuses try to rationalize your actions even when you clearly know that it is wrong. You not only try to convince others of things that are not true, but you also try to lie to yourself too. The more you make excuses, the more difficult it becomes to try and get things done. Fear then becomes the norm which keeps you from trying anything out or you could also become too lazy to make any effort. We then fall into the oblivion of not being aware of the consequences that follow us when we continue to let excuses have their way. We do not want to get to this point and that’s why picked the brain of one of the best motivational speaker, startup and entrepreneur coach Jason Guck to help us debunk excuses. Here are his top five reasons why people fall into making excuses:
- Fear
Fear comes in many shapes and forms. It could be fear of failure, fear of success, fear of having something to lose or fear of becoming too vulnerable or too exposed. Sometimes intentionally or not, we instinctively back off when faced with a situation we are not familiar with. However, you must try to not get too comfortable in the comfort zone. Grab hold of the opportunities that present themselves because the comfort zone will make you miss out on the most beautiful things along the way. Mr. Guck emphasizes on learning to embrace failures because they are inevitable. He has witnessed a lot of business especially startups hit a wall and throw their plans altogether. He insists that what we need to focus on is being able to learn from them and try again, instead of spending a lot of time worrying or being alert about failing.
- Lack of goals/motivation
When you start something, you need to have a very clear goal. It must be something that brings a sense of satisfaction achieving it because this will be the fuel you need to make it happen. Much as it gives us joy just thinking about how we will feel once the goal is reached, this can easily turn into intimidation, and we might end up not starting on our plans altogether. At this point, trick yourself! Break down your goal into extremely small tasks and begin one task at a time. This way, you will end up finishing the whole project in small simple steps.
- Comparing yourself to others
It is easy to recoil and shy away from trying anything out. This could stem from a fear of being humiliated or underestimated by other people. We are in a constant state of comparison with what other people have done and this notion slowly forges a false truth that we are not good enough. As a businessman, Jason Guck admits that earlier on, he found himself trying to compare his business to other companies. He acknowledges that it spiraled an unhealthy attitude towards his business and that’s when he decided to stop.
However, this needs to be unlearned. You need to learn to be comfortable with yourself and in what you choose to do. Having this as the resounding truth for yourself will hush anything that will try to shake your confidence.
Excuses gradually pave way for future regrets. Even worse, we could get so used to the cycle of making excuses that we are not even aware of the consequences they have in our lives. You can amend this by starting to be aware of the excuses we make. By first acknowledging this, you can then own up to them and proceed with the tasks regardless of your thoughts and emotions at the time. It is definitely easier said than done, however, we will be extremely proud of ourselves once we start getting things done.
For more tips on how to develop healthy and valuable habits, check out https://jasonguck.com/.