A few years ago I wanted to write a book about all the excuses I had for not loosing weight. I realized that I was so good at making excuses for not taking action and shed a few kilograms that I could actually write a book about it! The list of reasons (excuses) was extensive! Excuses like my family having a history of being “big” to I don’t eat a lot, my bone structure is big, I don’t even eat fat/sugar/starch and so forth. But I finally realized that all fat people probably have the same excuses, so my book would not benefit anyone. Bottom line, I realized that it was all just excuses. I didn’t want to take action so finding excuses was just easier.

Why is it easier to find excuses than it is to take action?

Perhaps a conversation I had with a local beggar a few days ago would be the best illustration of the astonishing answer to that question. Let’s call him *Thomas (*not his real name). Thomas is around 30 years old, has lovely blue eyes and blonde hair. He stands at a specific robot in our town and begs for money every day. I started talking to him about a year ago. Every now and then I buy him a pie and a cold drink (and sweets as he likes sweets) and we chat for a while. I got to know Thomas from our conversations at the robot.

A few months ago a few of our community members got together and decided we wanted to help Thomas. We all pitched in, collected money and talked to Thomas about his desire to go for rehabilitation (for his drug addiction). He left the rehab centre after about a month, stayed clean for about two months and then started using again.

So Thomas came to my office a few days ago to drink coffee with me and get something to eat. He knows where to find me if he is hungry and I don’t mind at all. I noticed how badly he has deteriorated, he was dirty and very skinny. We started talking about going to rehab again. I was astonished at the “excuses” Thomas had for not wanting to go to rehab again. Some of the excuses he had:

·   He asked the church to take him to their rehab centre but they gave him the wrong time they would pick him up so he missed them when they came to fetch him;

·   He then found out where their centre was and he didn’t want to go anymore as he didn’t like the place or the people (they were all Hippocrates according to him);

·   He came to a conclusion from previous times he went for rehab that he couldn’t stand to be in a rehab centre for more than 21 days to a month, it is just not comfortable enough for him;

·   He didn’t “enjoy the feeling of being sober” (this one was my absolute favourite!), he liked it more to be high;

·   In general he found that people are not nice. They didn’t want to help him, they would never give him a job and nobody cares about him. So trying to live a better life and getting clean would not help in any case.

All just excuses!

Needless to say, Thomas is not willing to change anything about his situation, however sad it might be. But even so, we have to realize that we always have a choice in life to do something about our circumstances or situation, take action, change direction or just make it happen! It doesn’t matter what it is that you need to do, if you find solutions rather than excuses it will happen.

I work with a lot of people that are unemployed due to the nature of my job at an outsourcing company. In our current economic climate work is scarce and people are really suffering due to breadwinners sitting at home because they can’t find a job. So I challenge these men when they sit in front of me. I challenge them to think about at least twenty things they can do to generate income while they don’t have a job. I often lead the conversation by giving a few examples of what I think people can do to generate income. I also ask a few questions to find out what skills they might have, which available tools they have, what they are good at doing, etc. 

Without fail, all of them come up with far more excuses than solutions. It saddens me, because when they leave my office I know they chose those excuses because it is more comfortable than trying to do something about the situation.

So my challenge to every person reading this post is to ask yourself “What is my excuse for not going …..” (whatever it is that you know you have to do but find excuses for). Be brave enough to write down those excuses and counter them with solutions. A few simple things you can add to your list of how you are going to work towards those solutions:

1.   Take the first step by starting to do something about it. Even if you drink one glass of water a day instead of focusing on drinking two liters (if you want to loose weight) you have at least made a start. Walk around the block for exercise, do only 10 sit-ups or take your dog for a walk;

2.   Challenge yourself to think of at least ten things you can do to get going. Write them down on your fridge with a board marker if you have to;

3.   Break it down into smaller, more achievable goals. Like if you are procrastinating in sorting your house out, start by organizing one drawer every day;

4.   Set a specific time aside to do that task every day for at least twenty one days (new habits take twenty-one days to form, after that you would do it automatically);

5.   Get someone to hold you accountable to what you have committed to do (in business, you would get a Business coach). Choose someone that would not let you get away with it if you are not achieving that goal!

You would be amazed at what you can do once you get out of the habit of finding excuses for everything.

If you liked this article, please share it with your friends. If you need help to get going, comment on the article and I would gladly get in touch with you. You have no excuse not to get help if you need it!

Antoinette Venter, ActionCOACH Business Coach
antoinetteventer.actioncoach.com | antoinetteventer@actioncoach.com