No it’s not politics…
not anger…
not greed…
There is no vaccine for it.
no cure…
In fact, some may even call it terminal.
The ONE thing more contagious ( and DEADLY) than COVID-19?
It’s excuses…
—the most toxic and dangerous type of “disease”.
Excuses have killed marriages…
dreams…
and even topple empires.
Every unwritten book was destroyed by an excuse.
Every unborn business was wrecked by an excuse.
Ever “aspiring” writer was broken by an excuse.
Look…
If you’re a highly disciplined person with a perfect track record then maybe you don’t need this.
but if you’re a person who has explained away why you…
didn’t
couldn’t
shouldn’t
wouldn’t
…do something, then read on.
Excuses are like a double edged sword.
They can absolve you of responsibility…
make you feel unburdened and free.
BUT in the long run, they come back and bite you.
Every time you make an excuse…
“I don’t have enough time.”
“I don’t have enough energy.”
“I don’t have enough resources.”
What you’re really saying is…
“I don’t want to take responsibility for this…So I’d rather blame X.”
Like a virus… the only way to defeat excuses is to do 2 things:
1) Establish standards. 🧼
Y’know how everyone started washing their hands 5x+ a day because of COVID?
That’s a standard.
or how people always wear a mask when going out?
That’s a standard.
A standard is a commitment you make to uphold something.
It’s a rule, a habit, or a promise to do something.
It could be “I must write 1 tweet every day.”
It could be “I must do one push up every day.”
Stick to your standards, and excuses won’t show up.
2) Destroy the center. 💣
Did you know that viruses have no nuclei?
They have to ENTER into their host’s nucleus to survive.
Excuses are the same.
They can’t live on their own.
They need to attach to your EGO to live.
Here’s what I mean…
When you make an excuse… what you’re really doing is protecting your EGO.
It’s easier to blame an external factor than to say… “I screwed up.”
Your ego is your identity.
It’s what makes you… you.
And whenever new information challenges who YOU are… excuses pop up.
Learn to recognize that it’s your ego making excuses… and you’ll weaken their power over you.
TL;DR
Excuses are a double edge sword that will hurt you in the long run.
To destroy excuses set standards.
Excuses need your ego to live, realizing this will solve most of your problems.
My favorite links this week:
My favorite online AI presentation maker ( Never make an ugly slide deck again)👈
Tim Ferris’s 17 Questions That Changed His Life ( Highly Recommended) 👈
Mark Manson on FAKE Freedom and why you should just make decision👈
P.S. I never intended to make this newsletter a series of Simpsons GIF’s but somehow I fell in love with them.
Now I’m currently battling between using more Simpsons gifs or not 😂
Cheers,
Brian “No mo’ excuses” To