Debunking Your Excuses–Part 2

Last week we talked about excuses that hold us back from pursuing our goals, and I addressed the 3 biggies—lack of time, talent and money. Now it’s time to dive deeper and see what we can do to conquer our excuses once and for all!

In case you think you’re not making excuses, let’s examine a few signs, just to be sure.

Signs that you’re making excuses for not actively going for your goal:

• You find yourself putting off any tasks that relate to your goal
• You find yourself hoping no one asks how it’s going
• You change any conversation that might be about your goals
• You stop telling people what goals and dreams you’re aiming for

Even though I’m not a psychologist, nor do I play one on TV, I threw out a few possible reasons why we make those excuses—fear of failure, rejection and unforeseen consequences. This week I want to dig just a little deeper and get this sorted out.

Let’s ask ourselves 2 questions:

• Why am I making excuses for not pursuing my dreams?
• What do I think could happen if I step out and risk trying?

I want you to really stop and consider these questions rather than blowing past them. Write down the answers if you need to in order to find clarity. You can’t deal with an issue if you haven’t carefully considered the root cause.

In my case, it all boiled down to fear. You see, I was tired of getting slammed with rejections, especially since I’ve been dealing with a rejection complex for the majority of my life. Once I discovered that this fear was the root cause for me not pursuing what I felt called to do, I knew I needed to overcome it. At that point, I hadn’t understood what rejection really meant in that context, and I couldn’t see past the hurt and disappointment. Once the fear of rejection was unmasked, I was able to jump back into the game.

I want the same thing for you.

Have you figured out what you’re afraid of, and what you’re trying to cover up with your excuses yet? Once you’ve identified the deeper issue holding you back, you can give it a good sucker punch and get back on track!

Sometimes you have to put your big kid pants on and do the hard things. #noexcuses

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Since I don’t know who you are or what your issue is, it would be hard for me to offer specific advice, but I can give you a few general pointers to give your excuses a swift kick.

Practical Tips for Dealing With Excuses

Ask Yourself, What’s the Worst Thing That Can Possibly Happen?

What’s the worst thing that can happen if I stop making excuses and start actively pursuing my goals? Take this line of thinking to its logical conclusion. Is the worst thing that can happen failure? Disappointment? Financial ruin? Death? A lot depends on your answer.

If the worst thing that can happen to you is financial ruin, you might not want to take that risk when you’re 68 years-old and living on a fixed income. But if you’re 22 with no dependents, it might be easier to overcome. If you want to become a skydiving instructor and the risk is death, you’ll have different considerations if you have young children versus someone who has few obligations.

Mitigate Your Fears

Once you’ve identified the root issues, put safeguards in place. If you fear financial ruin, start positioning yourself financially to take a risk. If your goal involves a lot of physical risk, get your affairs in order (most of us should do this anyways!) Do what you need to do to approach your goals without putting yourself or your family in jeopardy.

If you fear disappointment, well….sometimes you just have to put your big kid pants on and do the hard things anyways, unless  you’re okay not living to your full potential.

The choice is yours!

Remember, time is ticking and all our days are numbered. Let’s go out and start living the big life!

How do you conquer your excuses?

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