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No excuses. We’ve all heard the phase before. It sounds harsh, disparaging, final. And it is. To say that there are no excuses is to say that you are in control of everything…which you’re not!
Excuses are real. When I think of no excuses, I have to put it in context with my situation. Say I do everything in my power to get to an appointment on time. I prepare ahead of time. I leave early to give myself a bumper. I even check my vehicle to make sure it’s ready to go. But on the way to the appointment, a piece of metal flies off a passing truck and blows out my tire. I now have an excuse as to why I will be late. The excuse was COMPLETELY out of my control.
We’re not talking about those types of excuses. We’re talking about the excuses, though they may be real, that will give us a reason to “pass the buck” somewhere else. Here’s a list of some simple go-to’s for excuses we have probably used before.
I don’t have time
They made me mad
It’s just the way I am
The list could go on endlessly, but let's take a look at just these to help us out.
I don’t have time. I’m sure you don’t. Everyone’s day is full. We woke up early. We worked all day. We went to bed late. But we make time for what is important to us. How many people use this excuse as a reason to not reach for their goals when they did other “less” important things throughout the day? You didn’t spend the 10 minutes working on the second language you are trying to learn, but you certainly had the time to scroll Instagram for 20 minutes. It’s an excuse. Though real, the excuse gives us an out when we had control over it the whole time.
They made me mad. Okay, I hate this one. This is 100% passing the blame to someone else. No one can “make” you mad. You can choose to be mad because of someone’s actions, but they can’t make you mad. The excuse gives you a reason to not call out your own overreaction to a situation. Choose to be in charge of your actions.
It’s just the way I am. Total cop out! You choose who you are and how you react to things. Any use of this excuse is saying you can’t control yourself.
So in my opinion, the phrase NO EXCUSES is just a way to tell ourselves that we have control of our own growth. Control of our own actions and thoughts.
When we give ourselves no excuses, we give ourselves the gift of betterment and discipline. We become accountable to ourselves and are able to become the person we desire to be.