“EVERYONE has lifelong, debilitating excuses that we mostly subconsciously cling to and that often manifest as a tributary of fear, stymying the fulfillment of our true passions, intentions, and desires.” Wayne Dyer writes of a process, a system of undoing belief structures that no longer serve us, eradicating excuses from our subconscious minds, our habitual minds.
Dyer states that we all are essentially hosts of a mind virus, a “catalogue of excuses.” Effectively, our thoughts are contaminated with an excuse virus, many strains of which were formed when we were children.
Dyer firmly believes
– “You can change any excuse pattern.”
– “You have an unquestionable ability to eliminate excuses.”
– Excuses will “get up and go when they’re revealed as the false beliefs that they are.”
– “You elevate your life by taking responsibility for who you are and what you’re choosing to become.”
– “You can transcend the ordinary, mundane, and average with thoughts of greater joy and meaning.”
– “You can decide to fulfill your destiny, rather than have it stagnate or deteriorate with excuses.”
– “You are what you believe.”
Awareness being the first key, Dyer lists common excuses; I’ve added and elaborated a bit, including some of my favorites. The simple process of writing down all your excuses is a tremendous eye opener. Putting on paper all your limiting beliefs forces you to come face to face with the creative rationales you have for not living the life you want to live. If only we were as creative in finding reasons why we MUST live beyond our fears as we are in finding reasons why our fears form an acceptable prison.
– It’s against my nature; I don’t have that kind of personality
– I don’t have the energy, time
– It will be difficult, risky
– It will take too long
– I’m too busy
– I’m too tired
– I’ve always been this way
– If I change, it will create too much family drama
– I don’t deserve it; I’m not worthy or good enough
– Someone else can or will do it better, so why try
– I can’t afford it
– No one will help me
– It’s not happened before
– It can’t be done
– I’m not strong enough, smart enough
– I’m too old
– I’m too young
– They won’t let me
– It’s too big
– It’s not worth the time and effort
– It’s not me, I’m not that kind of person
– It’s my family history/genes/childhood holding me back
– The life I want is out of reach, the things I want are too expensive
– It would be too difficult for me to do anything differently
– I’m afraid, overwhelmed
Dyer discusses seven principles for overcoming excuses: awareness, alignment, now, contemplation, willingness, passion, and compassion. Become aware of your excuses (including their history/origin/payoffs and degree of truth), align yourself with your truest passions, use that energy to move forward. Of course, that is like saying the key to losing weight is to eat less and exercise more. The devil (and the salvation) is in the details.
Closing Quotes:
“Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure.” — Don Wilder and Bill Rechin
“Don’t make excuses-make good.” ‑ Elbert Hubbard
“He who excuses himself accuses himself.” ‑ Gabriel Meurier
“Maybe you don’t like your job, maybe you didn’t get enough sleep, well nobody likes their job, nobody got enough sleep. Maybe you just had the worst day of your life, but you know, there’s no escape, there’s no excuse, so just suck up and be nice.” ‑ Ani Difranco
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