Constant Improvement or Constant Guilt?
Which do you prefer? Constant improvement or constant guilt? The answer is obviously the former although I know that the former is not always the choice that is chosen by most people. Why is that?
You could say it is laziness but that just doesn’t make sense, because why would someone be too lazy to improve themselves, and therefore the quality of their lives? So what is it that makes people wallow in guilt and broken dreams instead of living a life of improvement and growth? After all the studying and observing of people I have done, I find that the number one reason for this is the “excuse syndrome”. People have forgotten what it really is to be alive these days and for some reason, believe that watching T.V. or taking part in other trivial activities is actually living!!
“It is in the small decisions you and I make everyday that determine our destiny.”- Anthony Robbins
No matter what it is, those of us with the “excuse syndrome” will always come up with excuses as to why we shouldn’t or couldn’t do it.
For example, “I haven’t got time.” Or “I wanted to and I know it’s important but…”
There are two questions to ask then:
1. How do we get the excuse syndrome in the first place?
2. How can I rid myself of it?
Firstly, the excuse syndrome takes root when we become so busy and distracted by work that we stop doing the activities and things that really matter to us. When this happens, so do the excuses. It might start with you simply wanting to read a book, but then you never seem to find the time to do it, and then it grows stronger and spreads to the larger endeavors. You may have always wanted to go abroad to Spain but keep putting it off for one reason or another, or you may want to further educate yourself at college but just haven’t got round to it. Whatever the excuse is, it is a sign that you have developed a habitual pattern of making excuses.
Secondly, how does one begin living a life of constant improvement?
It’s simple really, the next time you find yourself making an excuse why not to do something, notice that you are doing it and observe the excuse. Do this a few times and you might see that it happens a lot, as is the case with so many people. After you have done this a few times, the next time you promise yourself you are going to do something ask yourself, “Why am I going to do this?”, “What do I get out of this if I do it?”, “Is there anything else more important than this that I should do instead?”
Make an extra effort to do what you say you are going to do because if you don’t, all that is going to happen is that you will build a failure habit, a failure to do things you say you are going to do, and that is the excuse syndromes greatest strength.
Set yourself targets each day even if they are small, and then do them because if you do, and you complete the tasks consistently, you will begin to become a person in continual growth. This will form a new habit that replaces the old and you’ll be a person that always does what he/she says they are going to do and no longer make excuses to justify not doing it.
