Ways to stop making excuses and get what you want

We are well into the second quarter of the year and for many of us, we are yet to start on our New Year resolutions. But did you know that the greatest hindrances to your success are the excuses you give for not starting let alone doing anything? Here’s how you can avoid making excuses and get what you want.

Set your priorities straight. You should evaluate what your priorities are. Is it growing your finances? Succeeding in your career? Is it improving the quality of your relationships? Making excuses usually comes about when you have conflicting priorities.

It is, therefore, advisable that you set your priorities from the most important to the least important. This will also help ease decision-making and you will find yourself working towards your dream.

Take the necessary risks. Success requires you to take a lot of risks. You will also face failure from time to time. For example, if you want to start a business, don’t start by making excuses such as the market is already saturated with the services or product that you are offering. Go for it. What you will need, however, is to add value to the service or product you are offering for that competitive edge.

Don’t be afraid. Fear keeps us inside our comfort zones and gets in the way of venturing out into the unknown. It is good to let go of your fears and just take the risk because you don’t know what’s on the side of fear. For example, if you want to make a public speech and you have a fear of speaking to a large crowd, you have a choice of either letting go of the fear or letting it cripple you. Choosing the former will make you feel proud and the more you do it, the better you get at it. As someone once said, “Do it afraid.”

Take mistakes as lessons. We all make mistakes in life and it is our duty to learn from that mistake and grow from it. However, many people often dwell on the mistakes, which prevents them from moving forward. You should learn from that situation and don’t let it hinder you from taking other risks which may be beneficial to you. Don’t let what happened in the past prevent you from moving forward.

Stay motivated. It is good for you to set goals in order to stay on the course. For example, if you wish to work out and keep fit then you can set a goal beforehand and push yourself to attain it. This will keep you motivated and with time, you will want to do more. Eventually, you will be so addicted to working out that it will become a part of your life. Without motivation, you can come up with any excuse in the book to stay complacent.

Stop comparing yourself to others. Comparison is bad because it makes you feel as if you aren’t doing much or aren’t good enough for something. Everyone has their own path carved out for them therefore it’s not wise to compare your journey to someone else’s. A lot of people get frustrated especially when they see other people living large especially on social media.

This can be such a buzz kill to many and you may find yourself demotivated to do anything because you may feel that you are not good enough or you may feel as if you are not worthy of succeeding. As the famous Desiderata by Max Ehrmann says, “If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.”