Zero Excuses and Self Liberation

What if you resolved that 2018 will be a “Year of Zero Excuses”?

Imagine how incredibly liberating that would be?

Then again, to some it may be overtly restricting.                    

Such an approach could be a ticket to growth, development, discovery and new experiences.

You may have been talking about enrolling in a digital marketing course but have no due to being too busy. A great excuse indeed.  

Perhaps you have been resolving to lose 5 kilograms however the need to attend business functions and conferences where much of the food served is rich and wonderful has served as a perfect excuse, at least in your eyes.

Then again, it may be as simple and as important as spending more time with your family, attending school events, date night with your partner, coffee with parents or swimming lessons with your children, all things you recognise as important but work-related fatigue or long hours in pursuit of career objectives have been acceptable excuses.

Do you like what you do for a living? Have you been saying year in year out that this is the year to change careers or employers? Perhaps your excuse for not doing so is income related, time or location restrictions. Perhaps it is as simple as inactivity.

Again, imagine how liberating a resolution to eliminate all excuses would be?

The harsh reality is, many of the objectives we state for ourselves are "excused" away because we do not genuinely own them in the first place.

Let us look at one of the examples outlined above; let’s look at the what we do for a living.

If you have had some career success, chances are you are being paid ok. In addition, you are probably comfortable knowing what you are doing and with the people you work with. You may not be friends with them, or even like some of them, but it is a predictable work place.

Then again, perhaps you hate it.

If you decide this is the “excuse free” year, you will be liberated in one of two ways.

You will either cease talking about a career change because being committed to your resolution you will not roll out an excuse, or you will take action to achieve the desired change.

If you have a desire to lose those kilograms, you will pass on the pastries served at conference breaks or will cease with the excuse that you have to eat them because they are made available. After all, you make the decision to consume them. To put it another way, you accept the pleasure of the pastry as more important than losing weight, no excuses.

Potentially, there is another approach to the no excuse mantra. Some may set their objectives so low they will achieve them without fear of needing an excuse. If one aims to come 3^rd success is assured and no excuses called for.

Is anything stopping you having an excuse free 2018, or would that represent an excuse?