I used to be terrible when it came to making excuses. I’m still working on it too. It’s almost like suffering from a disease that keeps getting worse. Once you let yourself excuse something, you start to train your brain to allow it to excuse other things and then you’re an infected; you’re an addict. Step one is to admit it.
It can be about anything.
“I can’t make more money because I’m not qualified…”
“I can’t lose weight because I don’t have time to exercise.”
“I shouldn’t talk to that person because they won’t like me.” etc…
The basic structure is:
“I can’t do {something I want} because {something I believe is limiting me}.”
These are often called limiting beliefs and they are controllable and you can change the way you think. A recent excuse (which is simple, but a good example) I caught myself constantly using was to choose white bread over whole grain. My excuse was that it’s slightly cheaper, and only a few more calories per slice. But that’s not in line with my goals is it? Every calorie counts, and honestly if $0.25 – $0.50 is a real decision maker, I have bigger problems. It’s just an excuse. I’m convincing myself that one option is better than another even though I KNOW that the opposite is true.
Usually these types of excuses cause people to never achieve what they truly want to and it’s time to STOP MAKING EXCUSES. It’s important to overcome these limiting beliefs weather they are “what’s the difference” type excuses or caused by fear or discomfort.
The only way to change, is to actually change.
The first time this truly sunk in, I knew I was really onto something and once you can change the default patterns that your brain jumps to while in certain situations, you will feel it too. Try to catch yourself making an excuse to do something that is totally outside your goal list. Let’s say you’re overall goal is to lose weight before the summer… Your excuse might be the next time you’re at the Bar with your friends and you make an excuse to have another drink.. in your mind it’s, “Well… what’s one more, I already had 3…” but the difference is 100 – 200+ calories! This excuse is not in line with your long term goal and is only satisfying you in the short term.
Try to catch yourself while you are misaligned with your goals and you’ll see nearly instant improvement! Take action!
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