You Can Either Make Excuses or Progress. Not Both.

I’ve finally come to a starting realization — I make too many excuses.

I hate it when my team tells me that something isn’t possible. Yet I’ll tell myself that a big goal I want to achieve isn’t really a possibility.

I make an excuse. I pave the way to let myself down gently when I fail.

I don’t let my kids make excuses. Not without me yelling at them. “Just get it done,” I tell them. “I don’t want to hear it,” I say as I cut them off with the wave of my hand.

Yet I’ll listen to my own excuses. I won’t just listen to them, I’ll think about them. It’s a whole bit of internal drama.

How ridiculous is that?

I fight it each day. Especially with big goals and a lot of people looking at me for support.

I don’t want to let anyone down. I don’t want to let myself down. But these excuses are killing me.

They’re probably killing you too.

No one else knows. Just you. You can feel it happening inside you — when you’re stressed and tired, beaten down, and unsure of what to do.

Make no mistake, I’m going to get to where I want to be. I will persist. I will achieve greatness. I will win.

That’s what I do. I fight and struggle, hustle, wage war, and put in the work. One of those struggles is to make fewer excuses. To do my best and just let the chips fall where they may. Without the need to make excuses or explain.

You can either make excuses or progress. Not both.

Maybe you’re fighting the same battle. Maybe you struggle with making excuses as well. Maybe we hold each other accountable.

No more excuses. No more defending. Just a single-minded focus on achieving something awesome.

Originally published at danwaldschmidt.com on July 3, 2017.