How To Stop Making Excuses

Finding a way out of things is something we learn early in life.

For most, the first experience comes in trying to avoid school and feigning illness.

As we grow older, excuse-making can become a chronic habit.

And this habit can be a tool to avoid doing all kinds of things, from going to the doctor to changing careers.

We humans are very good at creating reasons why something could never happen or would never happen, without putting ourselves on the line to see if that is really true.

Once this becomes habit, it can be a very hard thing to shake.

This in turn, can lead to unfulfilled dreams and desires when, just maybe, we could have those dreams if we really wanted.

Below, we’ll look at some good tips to break those excuse making habits and get on the path to what you really want.

List your fears

For many of us, we don’t even really know what it is we’re afraid of.

Our fears are what make us second guess ourselves and decide the risk is not worth it.

Whether it’s an idea for a business or a creative endeavour, it’s often easier to fear the failure than to actually try.

By listing your fears – the specifics of what you are scared will happen – you can look at them in an objective light.

Keeping them inside your mind only strengthens them but put them in the cold light of day and they soon lose their potency.

So, go ahead and list those worst thoughts and fears, because reality is never as bad as the things we imagine.

Decide on your goals

One of the main issues many people face is that they sort-of know what they want, but not in a concrete, nailed-down fashion.

If you want something, you have to articulate it, write it down and work out how you are going to attain it.

At its most basic level, life is about action – what to do and how to do it.

You wouldn’t try to drive somewhere new without a map, so how can you achieve what you want without goals?

Think of your goals – written down and ordered – as your road map to what you want to achieve.

With it in hand, finding your way will be much, much easier.

Self-efficacy

Simply put, self-efficacy is your belief in your own ability.

This could be in the area of getting fitter or studying for a degree – it all comes down to if you believe you can do it.

Call it ‘self-confidence’ or ‘self-belief’, they all mean the same thing: if you believe you can do something, then you have a much better chance of succeeding.

Much of excuse making comes from a lack of self-belief.

Believe that you are capable of what you want to do, and excuse making will fall away.