“If
you really want to do something, you will find a way; if you don’t, you will
find an excuse” – Jim Rohn
I love this quote. This is the essence of either getting something
done or finding an excuse to not get something done. The choice is yours.
Yesterday was a big day in your life. You sincerely took one thing in your life
you have wanted to change for some time, wrote this thing down, and decided how
you would go about changing it by writing down action steps. You should feel
accomplished, proud, and motivated. If you are not quite there yet, do not
worry. Today’s exercise in change will help you get there, I promise!
Today we will take a close look at the art of excuses. Excuses are
those little justifications and rationalizations that keep us from taking
action in life. Consider the following statement closely: excuses are an attempt to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Say
this to yourself again, but using an “I” statement: the excuses I make in life are attempts to maximize pleasure and
minimize pain. What do I mean by pain? Firstly, pain is relative. Pain is
something we imagine, and it exists only in the mind. I am not talking about
physical pain. I am referring to something we believe will be uncomfortable in some way. For example: if you have
decided to change your exercise habits in life and get into better shape, there
is only one thing stopping you from doing so – your own justifications and
rationalizations. The way you are thinking about exercise is all wrong. You
perceive that it will be difficult - painful in some way, and your mind
immediately devises a way to give you an “out”. It is all too easy to get off
of work, grab dinner on the way home, and plop in front of the television to
watch Seinfeld reruns. It would be more difficult to pack a gym bag and commit
to going to the gym after work for an hour.
While going to the gym after work may not be actually painful, if it is not something you are
in the habit of doing, it is minimally uncomfortable
to change your routine. Humans resist change because it is uncomfortable. We like to do what is easy, and easy becomes
a habit. Habits can be positive or negative. If I am in the habit of going
home immediately after work, sitting on my rear end and doing nothing, I have
formed this habit through a series of excuses. I have gotten into the habit of
justifying and rationalize why not to exercise.
Do any of these sound familiar to you? I will start exercising once my work schedule slows down…I will make it
to the gym for my New Year’s resolution (why not now?)…I will start exercising once my wife/husband does…I will start eating
a healthier diet next week…I would start exercising now, but I’m just
too__________. Read the following statement again: the excuses I make in life are attempts to maximize pleasure and
minimize pain. Write down in
your journal what excuses you might be making to avoid changing the things in
your life that you can. Think about these excuses carefully. As we discussed
earlier in this book, wanting to
change and intending to change
require just one thing…ACTION. Benjamin Franklin said that “he that is good for
making excuses is seldom good for anything else.” Look at the excuses you have been making once more, and finally
decide to expel them from your life. You will be pleased with the results. Just
begin.
Feel free to check out the book that inspired this post at:
Best ~ Paul
