This is Part 2 of The Real Reasons Behind Your Self-Sabotaging Excuses, and What do Do About Them.
Last week we talked about the underlying psychological sticking points that fuel your excuses, and how to stop them from getting in the way of your desired results. If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, do it now—without addressing the mental components of your excuses, the tactical solutions below just aren’t going to work.
As a quick recap, whenever some variation of one of the below excuses makes an appearance and tries to stop you from taking action toward your desired result:
- Reassert your exact desired outcome.
- Reassert your personal “why”.
- Address any fears or limiting beliefs holding you back.
Now let’s move on to the tactical solutions to the 5 most worn-out excuses that keep you stubbornly tethered to your current situation, instead of allowing you to grow into the amazing, full-potential-you that awaits you on the other side of self-sabotage.
The Top 5 Excuses That Stop People From Achieving Their Goals
Excuse: I don’t have time.
The Real Reason: I don’t prioritize doing the things that I claim are important to me.
Solution:
- On Monday morning (or Sunday), write down all of the actions you’ll need to take this week in order to move closer toward your goal, as well as any other tasks you’d like to complete.
- List the tasks in order of their importance. (Notice that I used the word importance, rather than urgency). The tasks necessary to move you toward your goal should be somewhere near the top of the list, otherwise your goal isn’t really that important to you and, therefore, should not be one of your goals.
- Take out your calendar and enter each of your action items on specific days and times, adding your most important actions first.
- Congratulations, you have now made the time to work toward the desired results that are most important to you!
Excuse: I don’t have the energy / motivation.
The Real Reason: I’m not taking care of my mind and body in a way that leaves me with enough energy to accomplish the things that are most important to me.
Solution:
- Eat nutritious foods and drink plenty of water throughout the day. Ditch the caffeine.
- Get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day.
- Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night.
- Schedule at least 30 minutes of meditation or deep relaxation time per day.
- Commit to completing just the smallest possible chunk of the action item you don’t have the energy to perform. If your action item is go for a 30 minute run, commit to just going for a 5 minute run; if your action item is to write a blog post, commit to just writing the introduction. Oftentimes, if we tell ourselves that we only have to do just one small part of a specific task, once we get going we get into a groove end up following through. Action precedes motivation. And even if you only complete that one teeny portion, you are still closer to your desired outcome than you would have been had you not done anything at all.
Amateurs wait to feel motivated, the rest of us just get up and go to work.
—Stephen King
Excuse: I’m Overwhelmed / I Don’t Know Where to Start
The Real Reason: I haven’t created an appropriate action plan to achieve my desired result.
Solution:
- Get present. If you’re feeling overwhelmed it’s because your mind is in the future, stressing about things that haven’t even happened yet. Take a few breaths and get your mind on what’s happening right now. Most likely, in the present moment, you are completely okay.
- Create your action plan. Start by identifying and breaking down into their smallest parts the steps necessary to achieve your desired result.
- Follow the same steps outlined for the “I don’t have time” excuse.
- Make sure you focus on one step at a time. You won’t feel overwhelmed unless you’re thinking about all of your to-items at once. Focus on each action item in isolation, moving on to the next action item only once the current one is complete. One step at a time.
Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.
—R. Collie
Excuse: I Don’t Know How
The Real Reason: I’m neither willing to learn the skills required to achieve my desired result, nor enlist the help of someone who does have the skills.
Solution:
- Determine what specific piece of knowledge you require to complete the action steps necessary to achieve your desired results.
- Ask yourself, can I pay someone to complete the task that requires this knowledge for less money than my time is worth? If the answer is yes, pay someone else to do it for you. If the answer is no, commit to learning the skills required to achieve your desired result.
- Remind yourself that any goal you set will require you to expand your skill-set.
Excuse: I Don’t Want to Waste My Time on Something That Might Not Work
The Real Reason: I’m scared shitless of failure, so I refuse to even try.
Solution:
Rather than personalize your failures (I failed, therefore I am a failure), realize that failures are an expected part of the process as you move toward success. When you accept and expect failures to occur, you can move past them quickly and resiliently, without letting them hinder your future attempts at success.
The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception and response to failure.
—John C. Maxwell
Remember, making excuses for your inaction WILL stop you from ever living the full, rich and satisfying life that you truly want and deserve, and will DESTROY the possibility of ever reaching your full human potential.
The next time you notice yourself concocting some variation of one of the preceding excuses, take a moment to uncover the real reason behind the excuse, get clear on what your desired result is and your personal “why” behind it, address any fears and limiting beliefs that are holding you back, and then get tactical with your solution.
Time is going to keep ticking by regardless of what you do with it, so wouldn’t you rather be consciously working toward creating the life that you’ve only dared to dream about up until this point?
No more excuses!
Have you found any interesting ways to overcome your self-sabotaging excuses? Tell me in the comments below!
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