Written by Brian Whipple, Program Coordinator of the WT Enterprise Center. For more information about the WT Enterprise Center visit www.IncubationWorks.com.
Recently I have been reading a book called “No More Excuses” by Sam Silverstein. I am only in the first couple of chapters, but it is already changing my perspective on the danger of excuses. I have been guilty of coming up with an excuse or two over the years. I convince myself that it is outside of my control, but really it isn’t.
The book makes a point that is shockingly true. We spend lots of energy and time coming up with the excuse. As humans we want to sit there and try to justify why something isn’t working, and we spend so much time on selling our story to ourselves and others.
The question is, what would happen if we just took responsibility and moved on? Instead of wasting precious minutes trying to convince us that it isn’t our fault, we should just admit our mistakes and move one. By trying to manipulate the past, we cannot control the future. Building an excuse is a huge time waster, and never produces action.
I may be the only one making excuses from time to time. But if you are like me, then this concept might change how we move forward.
