Excuses, excuses, excuses . . .

The human mind is an amazingly powerful tool. But part of that power is the power to rationalize. It’s very tempting, and very easy, to let ourselves off the hook, not follow through on something we intended to do, or otherwise flake out. And after the fact, our brains go into overdrive coming up with perfectly logical reasons for the flake out. “Hey, the reason I overslept this morning and didn’t exercise is that sleep is really important for health.” Ok, that sounds logical. But logic won’t get the flab off. “The reason I ditched my plan to go out and try to meet women last night is I really needed to catch up on my email. I can’t just let it pile up.” Sure, that makes sense. Except it’s keeping you from getting the results you want.

Which points to a solution I’m going to suggest. The next time you find yourself rationalizing or making excuses, no matter how trivial, I want you to stop. Place that rational thought under arrest for a moment. Put it in a holding cell. It will be screaming that it has rights and wants to talk to its attorney, but just ignore it for now. Ok? Now ask yourself, what is my objective? Is my objective to sleep more or lose weight? Is my objective to check email more often or go out and meet women more often? Do I want to improve my socializing skills? How can I accomplish that? What path gets me there quicker?

Stay focused on your objectives. Back in high school when I was a band nerd, our band director had a sign on the door of his office that said, “Results, not excuses.” That sure stopped you in your tracks when you were coming in to explain why you couldn’t make the big concert, or hadn’t practiced your part.

Our brains are powerful tools, but don’t let the tool take control. Focus your mind like a laser beam on your objectives, and single mindedly pursue them. Let that laser blast away excuses and forge a path to the results you desire. You can make it happen. You’ve got everything you need right now.

Good luck.