I was talking to an associate the other day and he was listing several reasons he couldn’t get complete something he said he wanted to get done. He added the final, and seemingly biggest reason for inaction. I replied, “that’s a good excuse, but can you live with it for the rest of your life?” The more I thought about it the more I came to like that line and now I want you to think about it.

Make any excuses lately? In the short term I understand why and I understand the reasons but in the long term what are the consequences? You may be too tired, too hungry, too hot, too cold, too busy, too whatever to do it but what about when you look back on that moment?

I had one of those moments yesterday. It was a nice day, late November, sunny. We had just come back from lunch and I was a little tired. A nap was sounding like a good idea. Then again, there was that article I needed to work on and also the press release. As I was walking through the garage my son asked the question…Of course, his world doesn’t involve me taking naps or working for that matter. “Hey Dad, you want to throw the baseball with me?” My immediate response was no. I was tired. But then I asked myself, “Can you live with that excuse for the rest of your life?” Aren’t fathers and sons supposed to play catch? The weather was great, it was Thanksgiving weekend, if not now, when? We played catch. It was fun. Had I let the excuses win, nothing bad would have happened but because I didn’t them win, something good happened.

We all make excuses. Some bigger than others. I will get in shape when…I would drink less but….My boss is such an idiot he makes me….I would do better work if….Sorry I am late, there was traffic…I will read that book when I…I will that class when…I would call my old buddy but not enough time…etc…etc…etc…

The next time you hear yourself making an excuse about something challenge yourself. It may be a valid excuse. I was tired yesterday afternoon. It was a good excuse but it was one I didn’t want to live with for the rest of my life.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 1:35 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.