Oh my goodness, I think I have used almost every excuse in the book. We all have them, we all use them. Of course sometimes it comes off as truth when in reality it's just an excuse. One of the dictionary's definitions of excuse is "to grant exemption or release to". We grant exemption to one thing for another.
I've got kids, therefore I get to use the "I'm really busy, we have sports, church, homework, volunteering". And yes, we do all of those things, but you make time for what you want to do. Ask anyone that works out regularly, they make time for it and some of those people have the same "excuse" that keeps me from working out on a regular basis. I find it interesting that we use the excuse of our day off being the day we can sleep in so we don't go do something we should or clean the house like we should, etc. Yet, if we were getting paid to get up early or clean the house, we would do it. Again, more excuses.
One of my goals (not resolutions) for myself this year is to stop making excuses. Yes, I'm tired when I get off work and just want to sit down but that doesn't mean I should every night. There's no reason why I can't spend even 15 minutes cleaning or doing something that I have put off for too long. I'm great at procrastinating, I wish I could get paid to do that!
I would much rather be out with friends or shopping or anything than cleaning my house. I very strongly dislike cleaning. I also live in a house with 3 boys, 2 dogs and a cat. Not cleaning is not an option. And I get to clean up after others whether I like it or not. The boys will help if I ask or make it a requirement, but most of the time I end up redoing things. I know that's my own fault and perfectionism (yes, even though I hate cleaning I still have perfectionism in my blood - after all, if you're gonna do something, why not do it right the first time!?).
So, I'm hoping that writing this down will keep me more accountable. I deserve better. I know it will make me feel better. When I come home and things are clean or my to-do list is completely blank (wait, does that happen?) I feel AWESOME! Even though I know this I still put stuff off or use the most convenient excuse. It's a constant battle.
Here's to doing things without excuses or ignoring those excuses no matter how tempting and easy it is to just lean on that excuse. What do you think? Can we move on from our excuses? What's yours?
Labels: excuses