Some people call them reasons, some say it’s reality, some people call them challenges. I call them excuses. Yes, I said, excuses. Some of you are not going to like this very much. It’s you who this is written for.
I have many friends, clients, colleagues, etc. who give me all of their “reasons” for why their life, business, relationship, is not what they want it to be. All of these reasons sound logical. Most of them sound like a challenge. Some of them could just be chalked up to reality.
That’s the thing about excuses; they are based in YOUR reality. Excuses have a grain of truth to them so they seem real and plausible and HARD to overcome.
Here are some of the more common excuses I hear:
I don’t have enough money
I have kids to take care of
I don’t have a job
I’m not married/don’t have anyone
I have family obligations
I have a full time job
I don’t have time
I don’t have a college degree
I’m overqualified
I’m married
I don’t have the energy
I’m too busy
I could go on and on! Now, I know some of you are reading this and thinking, “I really don’t have time” or, “I really do have family obligations”, etc. Sure you do. AND, you are choosing those things. You don’t HAVE to do anything. Some will argue with me and have. You say, “I have to pick my kids up from school”. Do you? Have you ever heard of someone not picking their kids up from school? How about not showing up to work? How about not paying their bills? How about not feeding their kids? I know you’ve heard of people who don’t do these things. They don’t do those things because they CHOOSE not to.
Every second of your life you are making choices. The things that you choose each day show what your priorities are. It might seem like a no-brainer that you are going to choose to go to work each day. There would be consequences if you didn’t. You are choosing to go to work, get the paycheck and avoid the consequences. I’ve met a few people in my life who have chosen the consequences instead.
You choose to live where you live. You choose to drive the car you drive. You choose to eat the food you eat. You choose to work the job you work. When something is important to you, you make it happen.
So next time you are reciting all the “reasons” you can’t improve your relationship, build your business, improve your life, think about the choices you are making. Are they choices that empower you or keep you stuck? Are they choices based in fear of the unknown? Where can you make different choices and drop the excuses?
