It’s time to stop living a life of endless excuses, and start living a life of purpose. If you continually find yourself making the same excuses over and over again, it's time to look inward and make some well needed changes to your life and self-belief.
To succeed in the goals you've set for yourself, you must first believe that you can and as long as you're here reading this, I can proudly tell you that you're already further along than 99% of people, so pat yourself on the back and don't forget to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
There will always be more reasons to quit than there are to continue, but only those who work through their own excuses and find motivation that is beyond will achieve lasting success.
If you are eager to make dramatic changes, the six points below will help you get on your way!
1. Find Your Why
Remember your "why" or why your goal is important. Acknowledge that you will have to make sacrifices. So start by defining who you are and why you want to achieve that goal.
2 Know Your Excuses
I love the quote that goes, “to be forewarned is to be forearmed” and it basically means, if you know that is coming, you have a better chance of being able to prepare for or against it. When you know what your excuses might potentially be and you write them down, including how you plan to overcome them, you stand a better chance of being able to overcome them. Your excuses may include:
Convincing yourself to settle for mediocrity or less than what you deserve in life.
Not having enough time or money to do the things you want
Putting off the responsibility for your happiness due to family commitments.
Expecting others to make you happy and fulfilled.
Justifying your actions with past pain or misfortunes.
You should realize that your excuses are just attempts at avoiding things and situations you don't want to take responsibility for. Be mindful of the difference between "can't" and "won't."
3. Make a list of your priorities
Your priorities guide your actions and decisions. You can choose to stay focused on what matters instead of letting less important things distract you. Evidence overwhelmingly shows that stating your priorities helps you stay a lot more productive.
Listing your priorities can be as simple as writing them in your journal, this could be short-term or long-term. List them in order of importance. Some of your priorities may well include the following:
Career development goals,
Learning goals
Health and Fitness goals
Relationship goals
Spirituality goals
Finance goals
Listing your priorities will help you know when you stay on track, as well as identify when your top priorities are being compromised by a lack of boundaries.
4. Take responsibility
Be responsible for your every action and inaction taken towards your goals. Do not let others (family or friends) determine what you should be spending your time on, or make you feel like your goal is irrelevant. Remember, it is okay to be selfish sometimes. Take time to reflect on what you want and be determined to achieve them.
5. Decide on a deadline
Setting deadlines for your goals reduces the level of excuses. It keeps you focused and helps you not give in to your excuses. It sets a clear timeline for you and helps you plan how to achieve it. When you have a deadline, you stay accountable — instead of just talking, you will act. It is a good idea to set SMART (SMART goals stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound), so you will always be accountable to a defined set of outcomes. Also, it helps you monitor your performance, so if you are ever falling short, you can then take the necessary steps to get back on track.
6. Get an Accountability Partner
The perfect accountability partner is someone who shares your achievements and happiness as well as your struggles and fears. Our accountability partners can be our friends, a spouse, a coach, virtually anybody you feel comfortable talking about your goals and fears with.
Having a companion by your side makes the journey to success worthwhile.