What excuses do you have?

I’m working on my next keynote speech. I posted a quick question about excuses on Facebook last week and had from all over the world respond to it. I learned that we all have excuses that hold us back from doing what we truly want to do.

The Collins English Dictionary defines excuse: An excuse is a reason that you give in order to explain why something has been done or has not been done, or in order to avoid doing something.

When I give excuses for something I’m not doing in my life, it’s typically because I’m stepping out of my comfort zone and feeling some sort of fear. ­

Susan Jeffers, PhD in her book Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway says:

“If everybody feels fear when approaching something totally new in life, yet so many are out there “doing it” despite the fear, then we much conclude that fear is not the problem.”

Obviously the real issue has nothing to do with the fear itself, but rather how we hold the fear. For some the fear is totally irrelevant. For others it creates a state of paralysis. The former hold their fear from a position of power (choice, energy, and action) and the latter hold it from a position of pain (helplessness, depression, and paralysis).

The secret in handling fear is to move yourself from a position of pain to a position of power. The fact that you have the fear then becomes irrelevant.

Today, think about what excuses you've been holding onto?

Make today amazing!

Allison