ex·cuse
verb | ikˈskyo͞oz/

1. Attempt to lessen the blame attaching to (a fault or offense); seek to defend or justify.

2. Release (someone) from a duty or requirement.

3. To forgive entirely or disregard as of trivial import ; regard excusable.

For the past couple of months I have been making a lot of excuses; excuses that would ease the guilt of not doing things to achieve my goals. I have been telling myself that all the changes, the busy, the stress, the fun I am experiencing at the moment are enough of an excuse for me to slack. Not that I have been really slacking, but there are times I feel I am not doing enough and times where I know I can do more. I am failing myself for missing out some opportunities that could propel me to greater heights. This has been the emotions in my captains log for the past few days.

Then just this morning I woke up and first thing that came to mind is “Enough with excuses. JUST DO IT! JUST DO MORE!” – thus this (comeback) post.

These are some realizations I had:

EXCUSES ARE an ESCAPE -a detour an excuse that we use to avoid our fears. There may be a bit of exaggeration there, but I realized that making an excuse is a result of one’s FEAR - fear of failure, fear of growing, fear of the unknown.

Being mindful that as humans we have our limitations, there are of course tolerable excuses that are unavoidable. But for situations where excuses are unnecessary we have to be more mindful and have PARADIGM SHIFT. When things really get uncomfortable it’s time to shift gears and look at the situation on another angle. Instead of being stuck with the “WHYs,” start asking the “HOWs”. “How can I overcome this?” “How can I make this better?” “How can I do more?”

CONSISTENT FOCUS, PRIORITIZATION and TIME MANAGEMENT

I believe are some factors that can really help us to do more and avoid excuses. Key word that binds all these words is CONSISTENT. Consistent FOCUS on the GOALS you want to achieve and PRIORITIZATION on the things you must do everyday to achieve your objectives. Easier said than done, I know, but this is where consistent TIME MANAGEMENT comes in. Breaking down the “must/ to-dos” on a yearly, monthly, daily, even hourly basis. There may be some things you have to give up and you must make a tolerable excuse but at the end of the day, do things that can contribute to your self worth. This will give you confidence that you are able to do more and you are moving towards your goals.

From now on, I promise myself to consistently focus, prioritize and consistently avoid making unnecessary excuses.

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