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What Excuses Keep You From Succeeding?

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Have you ever heard the phrase “Don’t yes but me?” It is a clever response to those excuses you may give as to the reason you are not succeeding.

Here is what it sounds like.

Mentor:  You need to start attending more networking events so that you can grow your community.

You: Yes, but I just don’t have the time.

Mentor: Don’t YES BUT me.

It is another way of saying – I agreed that I should be networking more. However, this particular excuse (money, time, energy, resources) is keeping me from being successful.

So how do you turn it around? The first thing you need to do is recognize the excuses for what they are – excuses and not reasons.

In the LinkedIn article The 7 Biggest Excuses that Keep You From Exceeding, the author, Bernard Marr spells them out:

  1. I don’t have the money.
  2. I don’t have the time.
  3. I’ve never done this before.
  4. I don’t have the skills.
  5. The conditions aren’t right.
  6. _________ says I can’t/shouldn’t/am not good enough to do this.
  7. I don’t have anything new.

 

If you want to be successful, you need to identify the excuses and find a way to turn them into solutions.

I don’t have enough money. Okay, you may not have enough money of your own, so where can you look for resources, funding solutions, grants, investors who can provide the money you need. The Internet is a beautiful, seemingly endless resource of ways to do just about anything and that includes finding money.

I don’t have the time? Then it is time to examine how you spend your time and find ways to delegate those tasks that can be so that you free up vital time for your goals.

I’ve never done this before is just another way to recognize that perhaps you are unsure, scared, less than confident, but again there are ways to overcome this.

You can see how this works, right? If you find yourself using excuses as a reason for why you haven’t achieved a goal or worked toward a new career or successfully completed a project; then first identify what is holding you back. Once identified, shine a light on the excuse and find a solution to overcome that barrier.

Lori Deschene of Tiny Budda wrote an article entitled Overcome the Top 25 Excuses. She identifies the excuses and offers sound solutions to help you overcome them. And then she offers this great advice:

When we’re feeling overwhelmed, it can seem like dreams are luxuries, but they’re not reserved for the chosen few. They’re reserved for people who choose to believe in them and act on it.

To do that, we need to stop telling ourselves the story of why we can’t, and start creating the story of how we can.

Don’t let excuses hold you back from creating a purposeful life – one in which you achieve the goals you are dreaming about. Turn those dreams into your new reality.
IMG_5268cJJ DiGeronimo, keynote speaker for women, based in Cleveland, presents keynote addresses on women in leadership, diversity in business and advancement for women.

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JJ DiGeronimo

JJ DiGeronimo

Speaker, Author & Thought Leader for Women in Tech & Girls in STEM.

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