Excuses don't Exist
"Excuses don't Exist men only create them"
We live in a society that provides ready-made excuses on why we cannot do certain things. In 2020 especially, I have heard numerous people blame their woes on Covid-19, the lockdown, travel restrictions, End SARS protests among other excuses forgetting that there are people out there who thrived in the same year despite sharing the same limitations.
My mind goes back to a song titled Ghetto Dreams by Late music icon Dagrin. Dagrin is arguably one of the most talented rappers to come from the Nigerian music industry until his unfortunate demise.
Here are some of the lyrics
Mo ni dream lati di pastor or woli
(But everytime ni mo mu shepe mo de n fa kpoli)
Mo ni dream lati believe bi Pastor Chris
(But mo wa carried away pelu efizzy Ludacris)
Mo ni dream lati mowe bi Wole Soyinka.
(But problem ti mo ni, awon sisi yi mi ka)
Mo ni dream lati lo school kin di professor
(Owo lo da mi duro bi bus ti awon ero fe so)
Mo ni dream lati play ball bi Kaka
Bo ya t’oba di ola won le sign mi si Barca
(But everytime tin ba de training, wa ni kin wa dawo kaka)
Just incase you do not understand Yoruba, I'll interete a few lines.
Mo ni dream lati di pastor or woli
(But everytime ni mo mu shepe mo de n fa kpoli)
Mo ni dream lati di pastor or woli means "I dream of becoming a pastor or prophet."
The part in brackets mean - "But I am always drinking alcohol and smoking pot."
Mo ni dream lati mowe bi Wole Soyinka.
(But problem ti mo ni, awon sisi yi mi ka)
Mo ni dream lati mowe bi Wole Soyinka means "I dream of becoming an intellectual like Wole Soyinka"
The part in brackets mean - "But I am always distracted by women".
Check the lyrics, you will see that each paragraph starts with "Mo ni dream" which means I DREAM OF.
And it is followed by another part in the bracket which is the EXCUSE part where he states the reason why that dream of his won't come to pass.
This may be a song, but this exactly how some people give excuses about nearly everything. They want things to be perfect before starting forgetting that perfection is but a mirage.
We grow towards perfection.
If we must get things done, we must avoid excuse. Excuses most times are mental rather than physical.
I have seen people in their 40's make excuses on their poor standard of living on their parents who didn't send them to school or failed to invest in them. In as much as these excuses hold water, but what did they do with the later 15years of their lives. Did they live deliberately of just kept living on their excuses.
Excuses can be be reduced by
Take Responsibility: you must take responsibility for the things you do and fail to do. Even when things are outside of your control, you should avoid making excuses and identify things you can do to achieve better result next time. When you accept responsibility you take control of your life. Excuses robs you of personal power.
Remember the long term goal: It is easy to set huge goals and then it’s even easier to complain and make excuses when we don’t achieve them.
It’s a much better idea to think of a big goal you want to achieve and then work backwards from the date you set yourself to achieve it, breaking each step down into smaller goals.
So, instead of trying to read 10 books this year, set yourself the goal of reading one page per day.
Focus on Your Strengths, Not Your Weaknesses: When you do is focus on your weakness, it opens us up to reasons why you fail which will inevitably lead us down the path of failure and more excuses as to why you didn’t achieve what we set out to do.
It is important to recognise what your weaknesses are so that you can work around them to allow you to focus on what we’re good at. This way, we make less excuses and feel good about what you can achieve instead of feeling bad about what you can’t change.
Always Remember Why You Started: Constantly keeping in min the reason why you started is a drive to continue and stay on track.
Get Comfortable with Uncertainty: uncertainty is the reason why you create a lot of excuses. The 'what if' questions can be a block. You must learn to embrace uncertainty nevertheless.