BEST PRACTICE
How to turn excuses into results by Carol Talbot , author of YOU the Divine Genius
very year , thousands of people across the globe attend courses and buy books
Eon goal setting , goal getting and personal achievement .
Their goals are often the same ones they made last year such as going to the gym more often , watching less television , to eat healthy food and meditate every day .
The sad truth is most never reach their true potential or put into practice the tools and techniques that they have learned because they simply go back to the way they ’ ve always done things and choose the same ‘ food ’ from the menu of life .
They give themselves plenty of reasons and excuses for not having their life quite the way they want it .
It appears in life that you always get one of two things , either you get the results you want , or you get reasons or excuses for not getting the results you want .
Excuses and reasons include ‘ I didn ’ t achieve my goal of being fit and healthy because being overweight runs in our family , it ’ s genetic .’ ‘ I didn ' t get the job I wanted because I don ' t have a degree .’ ‘
My poor health holds me back .’ ‘ I don ’ t have enough money to do anything to change my situation .’ ‘ I have responsibilities .’ ‘ I can ’ t change .’ Do any of these sound familiar ?
So in life you either get what you want , or you get reasons and excuses for not getting what you want . Just for a moment imagine a time in the future when you didn ' t have any reasons and all your excuses had disappeared .
It ’ s time to consider yourself to be a bus driver , driving your life in different directions .
Sometimes you pick up wellbehaved passengers and sometimes they are unruly . The passengers are your thoughts and feelings . At times they can be rude shouting out things like ‘ you ’ re a reckless driver ,’ ‘ you ’ re lost and have no idea where you ’ re heading ,’ or ‘ get a move on !
If you are ready to grab the steering wheel and take your foot off the brake , then it is possible to change your story , reclaim back your personal power and create a different ripple effect into your world .
Here ’ s how you can challenge some of your reasons and excuses for not having your life the way you want it :
Excuse # 1 ‘ I ’ m just unlucky , I can ’ t do anything about it ’
How to challenge it : Be the cause for all the effects in your life . Life is a chain reaction of causes and effects . Everything that happens was caused by what happened before and is the effect for what will happen next . The important thing is whether you choose to
58 www . businessfirstonline . co . uk think of yourself as being on the Cause side of the equation or on the Effect side .
Some people seem stuck on the ‘ Effect ’ side of life , bemoaning their bad luck . Others habitually think of themselves on the ‘ Cause ’ side of life , always doing and achieving things .
The question to ask yourself is ‘ how have I created this situation in my life and more importantly , what can I do about it ?’
Excuse # 2 ‘ I ’ m not good enough , ‘ I ’ ll never amount to anything ’
How to challenge it : No doubt you have heard the saying , ‘ whether you believe you can , or whether you believe you can ’ t , you ’ re probably right !’ Your beliefs form the rules that you run your life on for better or worse .
Your beliefs are literally behind everything you do whether you know it or not . People often think that experience is what leads to beliefs , but it ’ s actually the other way around .
Your beliefs shape your destiny . For example , if deep down you believe you ’ re not good enough to accomplish something , then that belief will create your reality . It becomes a selffulfilling prophecy .
So when was the last time you examined your beliefs ? Are they outdated and only supporting a limited view of what ’ s really possible for you ?
Maybe it ’ s time to choose your own beliefs rather than operate from those passed down by your ancestors . You begin to change your beliefs in the moment you recognize them . Imagine turning the light on in a dark room so that you can instantly see what has been tripping you up when you ’ ve been walking around . Now the light is on !
Excuse # 3 : It won ’ t for me ,’ ‘ Bad things like that always happen to me ’
How to challenge it : Your thoughts and what you create in the world is expressed in your language , therefore if you change your language , you begin to change your universe .
You can change the language you use every day to label people , events , situations and circumstances in your life .
As soon as the label you put on them changes , your experience and perception of the person , the event , the situation or the circumstance also changes .
Once you realise you ’ re creating your life as you go along , it gives you the power to change .
You can choose to pay attention to different things , interpret experiences differently , feel differently and act differently .