Day 268 – Reasons vs. Excuses

I listened to a JOCKO podcast running this morning and a subject that came up was the difference between reasons and excuses. Earlier I sent a blog called, NO EXCUSES. However, I guess I have to accept the fact that there might be a possible reason for not achieving your 365 Commitment. So for this blog, I am contemplating the many excuses we might use for not doing what we should that masquerade as reasons. I think if we come up with a reason for not doing something, we need to spend some time evaluating the reason carefully because it just might be an excuse. Excuses bad. Reasons are acceptable and you should be fine with with a well justified reason for not keeping your commitments.

For example, lets assume for a minute that as I left my hotel room this morning to run and I accidentally turned my ankle rendering my ability to run impossible. That might actually be a reason for not running for the 218th time in a row. Might. The reason that I say might, is that I may want to look at what led up to the ankle twisting. Did I prepare properly? Was I awake, or half asleep? Was I familiar with the environment? I might have been able to do something to avoid injury – would I have a good reason then? How important is the ability to run everyday to me? Am I willing to take precaution and the steps necessary to ensure my success? My lack of focus could be preparing me for an excuse!

So perhaps we should do two things. Stop letting us make lame excuses to do what is critical for our personal success, and start being a little more proactive to make sure we can keep our commitments.

Another example, lets say you are supposed to go meet with an important person. This person could be a critical element to your future success. You get up and get ready and leave with enough time to drive to the appointment. Unfortunately, an accident causes you to be delayed and you show up 15 minutes late. Do you have an excuse or a reason for being late? Be careful with your answer. The person has already judged you for being late. Should you say…”I am sorry I was late, the 405 was jammed, you know how it is with traffic.” or should you say…”The reason that I am late is that I should have looked to see how traffic was before I left and considered an alternative route.” One of these is an excuse and one of these is a reason. One of these considered the responsibility you have to consider what could prevent you from keeping commitments. True, there are things that cannot be avoided, but there are probably many that could be.

So why should we think carefully through our excuses? Well, because I use them all the time. My mind is really good at coming up with very creative and elaborate excuses for not doing what I am supposed to be doing. Are you the same way? I am pretty sure you are. In fact, you are probably so good at making excuses that you do not even realize that you are are doing it. You might even think they are reasons. Here is a thought, if you are dead then you probably have a reason that does not require questioning of your real motives. Anything else needs to be evaluated. You are saying…but…but…what if I am in the hospital? What if I am really sick? What if I am in a coma? I am not saying there are not legitimate and good reasons. I am saying you should evaluate your reasons and make sure you are not using anything as an excuse.

The first step is to question all your reasoning, really question yourself. I cannot start eating healthy today because I need to figure out my diet plan first. That is an absolute excuse. You can start eating healthy RIGHT NOW, you do not need a plan. You could over time improve upon a plan, true, but the lack of a plan is not something that should stop you from picking the carrot sticks instead of french fries. The second consideration is really consider the origin of your excuse. What is the motivation of the excuse? If you are making an excuse to get out of eating better, then the part of your brain that influences your cravings, impulses, or the desire to consume as many calories as possible is doing the thinking and probably feeding you excuses. Once you understand that you really are making an excuse and where that excuse is coming from – you have a much greater chance of overcoming your unwillingness or “lack of will power.”

Stop making excuses!

Guy Reams (268)
365 Member

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