Are you obsessed with the life you have? If the answer is no, ask yourself why?

Are lame excuses keeping you on the sidelines of your life?

Most of the time we don’t even realize we’re making excuses. The “reasons” why we’re not doing xyz seem legitimate to us.

No money, no time, lack of knowledge, too old, too young, yadda yadda yadda. They seem to make sense.

Except they don’t.

The consequences of making excuses are BIG.

You’ll never have the life you want if you’re making excuses.

This post will help you stop making excuses and take responsibility for your life.

Here are 6 lame excuses. Maybe you’re using one of them…

1. I don’t have time

Whatever it is you want, if you want it bad enough you will find the time.

I get it, we all have busy, over-scheduled lives. Most of us are pulled in more directions than humanly possible.

But if you want something bad enough you will make time.

It might mean getting up early, staying up late, working toward your goals on your lunch hour, skipping happy hour – do whatever you need to do to make your dream a reality!

Get serious about your time management because a lot of the time we are busy just being busy.

Those 10 minutes you spend here and there doing a whole lot of nothing add up.

Use that 10 minutes to plan, reflect, or do something small toward your goal.

If you’re using the “no time” excuse maybe you don’t want your dream bad enough.

Consider that.

People who want to reach their goal with every fiber of their being find time to make it happen.

Treat your time like it’s running out because it is.

At the end of your life, will you regret not having gone after this dream of yours? If the answer is yes, what are you waiting for???

Stop making lame excuses and start making changes today!

STEPS YOU CAN TAKE:

• Do a daily log of everything you do during the day for a week to see how you’re using your time
• Say “no” to something to make time to work on your goal
• Schedule time to work on your goal in your calendar (block off time)

2. It’s all been done before

This one is a huge confidence killer and a sad excuse. It’s telling yourself “I don’t matter”.

Your goal or dream has probably been achieved by a ton of people.

But it hasn’t been done by you in your own special way.

I’m a perfect example! As you know, I’m a personal growth and self-development blogger. We’re a dime a dozen!

I could tell myself “what’s the point, there’s no room for me” but I don’t because I know I have something to offer IN MY OWN UNIQUE WAY!

You do too!

Want to know something cool?

Nobody can be a better you than you!

You are one of a kind. There is only one of you and that’s all there will ever be.

Run your own race. Put your head down and give it all you got in your own way.

Trust me, there is someone out there who needs to hear what you have to say from you. 

I love this Dr. Seuss quote – “Today You are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”

STEPS YOU CAN TAKE:

• Write out 5 affirmations to boost your confidence and use them daily (for example – “There is enough room for all of us to succeed and I have a lot to offer”)
• Take one step toward your goal to start gaining confidence in yourself
• Research what has been done by those who have achieved your goal and consider different angles you might be able to take.

3. I don’t have the resources

This lame excuse bothers me. I get it, money is tight for many of us.

But it’s also true that there are a lot of people who waste money on trivial things rather than their dream.

Sit down and take an honest look at where you’re spending your money.

Where can you cut corners to make your dream a reality? Can you sell something? Pick up a side job?

Maybe it’s true that you don’t have the money to invest in your goals just yet.

BUT there are plenty of things you can do right now to work toward your goal that doesn’t require you to invest any cash.

You can learn ANYTHING for FREE!

Seriously, anything!

Check out podcasts, apps, blogs, online free tutorials, courses, classes, and webinars.

You can even go old school and grab some books from your local library.

Some big universities offer courses for free! I’m currently enrolled in one at Yale. Yes, I said YALE.  There was a free course being offered I was interested in so I jumped at the opportunity.

Harvard also offers free online courses. How cool is that?!

I’m going to hit my point home with this Tony Robbins quote –

“it’s never about your resources, it’s about your resourcefulness”.

Think about it. If you want your dream bad enough you will absolutely do whatever you can to make it happen.

STEPS YOU CAN TAKE:

• Review your financials – are there things you can cut out to use that money on your dream?
• Sell something to make money for your goal
• Find free resources (free online courses, podcasts, books)

4. I don’t know how

I somewhat discussed this lame excuse in “I don’t have the resources” section.

This lame excuse REALLY bothers me. A lot.

If you’re fortunate to have access to the internet you can learn ANYTHING!

If you have the money to pay for courses, great.

But if you don’t it really doesn’t matter because you can learn whatever you need to make dreams a reality for free.

A great free option is Kahn Academy. Their mission is to provide “free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere”.

I have the Kahn Academy app on my phone. They offer free classes on just about anything and everything.

STEPS YOU CAN TAKE:

• Enroll in a free online course, listen to podcasts, read blogs, etc.
• Reach out to someone who is succeeding at your goal and ask them questions
• Write out an action plan with the information you find about your goal

5. I’m not smart enough

This one makes me sad. To think this about yourself this way is heartbreaking.

Sure, some things might come easier to others, but I promise that you can learn whatever you need to reach your goal.

Maybe you’ll have to put in the extra effort but isn’t your dream worth it?

If you want to create a life you love, make it happen. Throw this lame excuse out the window!

Be persistent and adopt a growth mindset.

What’s a growth mindset? It’s the belief that intelligence can be developed with hard work and dedication.

Roll up your sleeves and get to work!

With a little elbow grease, you can achieve anything!

STEPS YOU CAN TAKE:

• Start working toward your goal to gain confidence
• Write out affirmations, such as “I am smart and capable of achieving my goals”
• Make the steps to your goal simple to set yourself up for success along the way

6. I’m not ready

You can stay stuck in this lame excuse FOREVER!

While it’s certainly important to properly prepare, there is such thing as over-preparing.

You could spend forever making sure you have all your “ducks in a row”, which is a total waste of time.

If your goal is big enough and important enough to you, there will always be something you can be working on.

There isn’t some endpoint so start before you’re ready!

Most of the time people don’t realize they’re even using this as an excuse.

It’s a form of procrastination. 

They procrastinate out of fear – fear of failing, fear of what people think, fear of responsibility, fear of success (to name a few).

When I started this blog, I went live WAY before I was ready.

My website design wasn’t great, my content could have been better, and I had nearly zero knowledge about how to promote it.

But I got sick of preparing.

I put all my effort into preparing as best as I could and started by going live before I felt ready. I knew I would learn along the way.

The best way to learn is through experience, not continuously preparing behind the scenes.

There is no such thing as perfect. Start now. 

Right now.

STEPS YOU CAN TAKE:

• Tell people about your goal
• Start and stay focused
• Start and don’t look back!

I hope you found this post helpful. Until next time friends!

If you enjoyed this post you might also like 4 Ways to Set Powerful Goals and Reach Them