How to stop making excuses

So today I’m going to say it to plain. I am calling BS on myself. It’s time for me to stop making excuses.

I’ve been saying I want to get healthier for years but it hasn’t happened. And the simple truth is – I didn’t want it badly enough. Until now that is when I finally stopped making excuses. (You can read about that here).

And I have a sneaking suspicion that you can relate.

Whether it’s finding a job you love, getting on top of your finances or sorting through your wardrobe. We all have things we say we want, but we don’t make happen.

If we actually want to see results in any area of our lives, we need to want the change more than we want to remain the same. In other words, achieving our goal is about making decisions and taking action in the present, so that we can have the future we want.

As I’m working towards my goal, I thought I’d share with you the 4 excuses I no longer allow myself to make, and I hope that you’ll join me in cutting them out.

1. I don’t have enough time

A fact is a fact, and we can all agree that every single one of us only has 24 hours in a day, right? So why is that we don’t have enough time to pursue our goals and others do?

It’s simple. And it’s nothing to do with the time or the commitments we have.

It’s that our goal is not our priority.

And that’s completely okay, but we need to own that decision and stop making excuses about it. Because no one’s buying it. And we’re wasting our time and energy trying to convince ourselves.

So, let’s commit and find the time, or not. But we have to own the decision and not moan about not having enough time.

2. I feel guilty

Going after what we want often requires sacrifices, and yes, it means putting our time, focus and energy on what we know we need to do. We can feel guilty about it, but here’s the thing – we only get one life, and it’s our responsibility, and only our responsibility, to live it fully and contentedly.

Feeling guilty is a way of taking away our autonomy about our own happiness.

Now, I’m not suggesting we abandon our loved ones and our responsibilities, but I think we should embrace this idea from Rachel Hollis in her interview with Amy Porterfield:

“…that guilt doesn’t serve me in any way. And it doesn’t serve my children…. I had this epiphany a few years ago, what if you are exactly the mother they are supposed to have? What if you are exactly the wife that he is supposed to be partnered with? What if you’re exactly who you’re supposed to be and you’re wasting this energy fighting yourself on all the things you are not. It doesn’t serve you and it doesn’t help you”

Amen to that.

We are exactly who we’re supposed to be and that includes having the time and space to follow our dreams, while still being the perfect friend/partner/employee/child/mum. How liberating is that!

3. Someone else is already doing it better than I can

Okay, it’s time to shift this mindset. See, if we all applied this logic, there would only be one pizza place in town, because hey, someone else is already doing it. Or there would only be one person going for a run in our neighbourhood each morning. That’s a crazy idea, right?!

We need to remember this – pursuing our goals is not about other people, it’s about us. We need to stop comparing ourselves to others and instead do what we want, regardless of other people.

It’s time to stop with the excuses and remember that we’re unique and we’re worthy of our dreams. So let’s seize our own superpowers and stop the comparison game.

4. I don’t know where to start

We all think this sometimes, but I promise you, it’s not true.

Somewhere deep inside of us, we all have some idea where we could start. And here’s the big secret – success in anything requires tiny steps in the right direction. We don’t need to have it all figured out. Because no one does.

Every successful person just takes consistent action in the right direction.

So let’s take the pressure off and remember we don’t need a clear path, we just need the next step.

If you’re stuck book a free mini session with me or check out this article for some great prompts.

What next?

If you know you want to create meaningful change in your life and create the future you dream of, it’s time to get into action and go for it.

It’s time to stop making excuses! And, I’d love to help, so book your free, confidential 30-minute mini session with me now, so you can explore what your future might look and how you can make it happen.

I only have a limited number of sessions available, so book in now to avoid missing out.