When you make an excuse, you postpone success, and when you postpone success, you establish your life as a residence for failure. Instead of making an excuse, use the excuse as an opportunity to think differently.
The definition of excuse: a reason provided to release yourself from obligation. I love that definition. Everything in life that you need to do to be successful is your obligation. Your body, spirit, soul and every aspect of your nature and the reason you were created is there to back you up! You are obligated to succeed. Do it for yourself. Stop making excuses. Here is a sad, but true reality - no one cares about your excuses, they care about your actions. Seriously, if there is anything you take from this blog, take this: DO NOT MAKE ANOTHER EXCUSE IN YOUR LIFE! You heard me. Not one. It destroys any hope you have of being great. Greatness cannot be achieved on a path of shoulds and buts.
"Greatness is just around the corner, and excuses are the red lights stopping you from getting there."
The only person that is obligated to succeed is you. Every person is obligated to succeed for them, not for someone else. Even if you are in a job right now, working for someone else. As long as your lack of success doesn't impact the overall success of your boss and his business, then your success is your obligation. 99% of the time, your success is your obligation, and your lack of success is your problem. Your success or lack thereof impacts you, and your family. No one else cares whether you are successful or not and no one else cares about your excuses. They are too busy caring about their own life. An excuse releases you from your obligation to succeed. It excuses you from being great. It excuses you from doing great things. Greatness is just around the corner, and excuses are the red lights stopping you from getting there. Turn off the red lights by turning off the excuses. Here a list of classic excuses that I hear all the time; excuses I recommend you never use:
I'll do it someday: If you don't do it now, it won't be done. Now is the only time. Someday is not a day; you have today, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Choose one of these options; choosing someday means you are choosing a road to a place called nowhere, and trust me, you don't want to be there.
I can't: This one makes me laugh because it shows me the self-belief that people have. I was asked once to speak to over 1000 people off the cuff and guess what, I said yes. I always say yes, unless you ask me to jump into a giant volcano from an airplane. Say yes, and then learn how to do it afterwards, but don't say that you can't do it. I believe in you, but do you believe in yourself? Whatever you believe is true - if you believe you can't, you can't and if you believe you can, you can. Always say you can.
But: Who's but? But what? But my girlfriend said... Don't worry about your girlfriend! But whatever is a bad excuse. Stop butting opportunity out of your life and let it in. A verbal but is a U-turn; a complete turnaround. When you say but, you are saying, "wait, give me a minute, let me just turn around and look at a bunch of reasons why I shouldn't do something I need to do." It's just ridiculous. It's like driving a manual and changing your mind about using the gearbox. The gearbox is right there.
You just read the top 3 excuses I hear on a daily basis. Now, let's discuss why it's important to shift our mindset, to think differently. When we think differently, we allow a separate and distinct outlook to make itself known to us. This new outlook is an opportunity to change from an excuse to an opportunity. Following is a list of different and separate outlooks; ways in which we can shift our mindset; the opposite perspective of the excuses mentioned above. This is what I live by and something that has empowered me to be great. Place these ten mindsets and beliefs on your wall and claim it for yourself. Move from a "taking excuses" mentality to a "never again make excuses" mentality.
It is done vs I'll do it someday: Nelson Mandela once said, "It all seems impossible until it is done." Speak in faith that it is done. When you do this, you are proclaiming that what you need to do is easy and simple, despite how hard it may seem in the moment. It is so easy that you can see it already finished with your eyes. You can feel and smell the victory. Think like this before you engage in an activity, and then go and do it. Don't leave it for tomorrow or the day after. Just do it. There is only one thing from Nike that I buy, and it's their slogan - "Just do it."
I can vs I can't: Albert Einstein once said, "I can is 100 times more important than IQ." A person that has a high IQ that believe they can't is ten times dumber than a person with low IQ that believe they can. Whatever you believe becomes true so first change your belief about you and your ability, and then take action. Great results are bound to follow.
And vs but: Instead of saying, "but I don't have time" or "but my parents are visiting this weekend, so I can't make it to that free seminar," say "and I have lots of time" or "and can my parents come with me?" And means that you are adding something, but means that you are setting something aside. So instead of removing things you need to do or opportunity from your life, add positive comments to everything. Add happiness to everything. Add something good to everything in life. What you add to a recipe makes a huge difference to the taste of the end result - imagine the taste of a cake if you used salt instead of sugar? It works the same way with life. What you add to life affects the taste of life along the journey. What are you adding to your life? Are you adding happiness or are you adding sorrow? You are the chef of your life, and you choose the ingredients. Get your but out of the way. Instead of saying, "but I can't," say "and I can."
Now, get excited because this is the tipping point. All of these incredibly powerful phrases and words can be used to take part in incantations. An incantation is when you utter words in such a way that you empower yourself. I am not speaking about the first definition of the word being witchcraft, black magic, or wizardry. Definitely not. I am speaking here about the utterance of words in such a powerful way that it empowers you. Speaking the following words over your life in such a way that you upgrade yourself. You believe in better, instead of worse. You empower yourself by speaking life over you. The incantation that follows is an example that you can use. Memorise this incantation if you want. Take a few deep breaths before you begin and then speak this out powerfully over your life:
I can, I will, and I must fulfil my purpose to live a full life. I must continuously grow, improve, achieve and contribute. I must love others. Everything I must do has already been done, or if it hasn't, I am the one to do it. I am to be a light in the darkness, and in this, I mean different. I am different. I am unique. I am powerful. I am to be a difference. I can do all things. I have been created to be great. Great results are for the taking because I can, and because I can, I will. I am a leader: a person that does good and is good. I am an unshaken, unbreakable and powerful force that believes and has faith. I am the chef of my life and choose the ingredients which I add to my life. I choose to add joy. Love. Purpose. Peace. Selflessness. Kindness. Goodness. Self-control. Power. I will beat the drum to a rhythm of power and speed. I will never retreat. I will push to win. I am a champion. I am a soul, spirit, mind and body. Daily I am improving in soul, spirit, mind and body. I am a gladiator. An anchor. A statement of power and influence. I hate easy, and I love challenges. I am empowered to thrive on greater challenges. I am empowered. I am stimulated. I am excited. I am whom I am. Created to be great. I am so energised about life that life can't keep up with my energy. I am a performer, a dreamer and a doer. I'm too good at what I do and who I am, and that's why I choose to be great. I am all of these things because I believe in me. I separate myself from danger, but I do not separate myself from challenges. I am a lion in the day and an owl in the night. I am unstoppable. I am unshakable. I am unbeatable. I am a legend among legends. I am the future of the life that I live. I am present to all that exist and present as I embark on the journey ahead of me. I do what needs to be done and am strong as I do it. I command my subconscious mind to harness the power that I possess, to be the person that I have been created to be. I will use my power to turn weaknesses into strengths, fears into faiths, wounds into scars, hate into love, lies into truth, blindness into sight, and darkness into light. That light is inside me. That light is what I see, feel and become. Now.
YES! YES! YES!
Go out there and be whom you were created to be. No excuses!
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