I was going to use the Thanksgiving Holiday as an excuse to not write a blog this week. “It’s a holiday! I shouldn’t have to do work on a holiday! That’s one of the reasons it’s great to be your own boss!”
Then I thought about it some more. Was I really not wanting to write a blog because of the holiday, or was I just feeling stuck about what to write about this week? Spoiler alert: it was because I had no idea what to write about. Ironically enough, making excuses for myself to not write is what gave me the idea of what to write.
What are some things you are making excuses for? What are those excuses? Are they valid excuses? Are these excuses masking some bigger issue?
Sometimes we make excuses because what we are avoiding does not align with our core values, and that needs to be addressed. How important is the thing you’re avoiding, and what about them is important? Do you really have to do it? What are the consequences for not doing it?
Other times, if we follow through with our excuse and don’t do the thing we are avoiding, we can feel worse than if we just did the thing in the first place. How could we use that hindsight in the future? A personal example of something I make excuses for is exercising. Because I have fibromyalgia, exercise can be tricky: if I do too much, I could hurt myself. That’s the excuse I give myself, “If I exercise, I could hurt myself and feel worse for several days or months.” However, if I consistently don’t exercise, I will feel just as bad, pained, and it will be harder to rebuild my exercise-tolerance. Despite dealing with this delicate excuse dance, I know I’ve never regretted following through with exercising. I can adapt the task to my comfort level. Even just a short walk for the sake of moving is better than not moving at all.
Does the thing you are making excuses for have to be all or nothing? Is it possible to adapt, or just do a different level of the thing? If one doesn’t have the time or energy to clean your full room, is it still not better to do just one task such as making the bed or putting away laundry?
Sometimes we make excuses because we are trying to avoid something. Ask yourself if there is anything or anyone that you could be trying to avoid. Is that why you’re making an excuse? What needs to be addressed with that avoidance?
Sometimes we make excuses because when we are afraid of putting ourselves out there. If we try, that means we can fail, and some people are afraid of failure. Does that apply to you? Is there any other fear that’s feeding these excuses? How rational, logical, or true are these fears? Do they need to be addressed?
What are some of your “go to” excuses? Is there a pattern of things you use excuses for? How can we adapt so we don’t need to put ourselves in situations we need to make so many excuses for? What happens if we ignore our excuses and follow through with the task we need to complete? What’s it like to accomplish the thing you were making so many excuses for? Is there a sense of empowerment? Does it reduce fears? Does it open other doors of possibilities?
How helpful is making excuses for you in your life? Is it something you want to change? I know personally, I know this may not be the best blog I’ve ever written or will ever write, but I’m glad that I did write something this week. Sometimes something is better than nothing, right? If I can accomplish this, what else is possible?
