In Episode 38 of The Mindfully Resilient Podcast, my guest, Heather Chapman shared so many thought-provoking stories and lessons in our conversation, but if I were to highlight one, it was possessing the "OWN IT" mentality. Not living in excuses.
If we took note of every excuse we made over the course of the last 12 to 24 hours, we’d probably have an excuse for that list, as well. It would be jaw dropping.
Do any of these sound familiar?
It’s hard to eat healthy because… [fill in the blank].
I don’t have time to work out because … [fill in the blank].
I was late to the meeting because… [fill in the blank].
My intentions are definitely not to make you feel guilty, but to help you realize that when you’re making an excuse, a high wall is being built in the middle of the road on your journey of growth. There's also a relinquishment of ownership for your actions.
Listen to Episode 38
When you feel you’re about to make an excuse for not doing something, pause for a moment to reflect in order to create, find, or offer alternative possibilities, instead. If the excuse is to cover for something that already happened, own the blame, then seek and discover the lessons that can be applied to help in your progress of personal growth. To be better than yesterday, you must take action today, and plan to take action tomorrow, and the days that follow. Most importantly, OWN your actions.
For example, I don’t have time to play with the children at this moment, but I’ll block some time now, in my calendar, to ensure I spend time with them later. Same thing goes for working out. A short, 15-minute workout, is better than no workout.
If you were late for a meeting due to an event that was actually in your control, what lesson can you extract from that? Maybe planning extra time before the meeting, going to bed earlier or, alternatively, waking up earlier.
If the reason was out of your control, like a road accident, options can be limited. If you must attend a meeting that can be done over the phone, pull over. Find an area with Wi-Fi and initiate a Zoom or FaceTime call. Seek solutions, not excuses.
When faced with challenges that we may or may not understand, the opposite of an excuse is discovering a bounty of opportunities. It’s hard, I know. But don’t let the difficulty be an excuse, let it be an ally to learn, create, and change the world.
