It is a worthwhile practice to ask oneself: Am I just making an excuse? Or is there something I should be actually doing instead. It is really easy to make excuses and allow them to become our default settings for life. It is important  to recognize when we might be doing something by default versus by design. The awareness of the distinction can make all the difference in how we actually achieve our goals and ultimately succeed. Self-discipline is the key to success and greatness.

In my ear this week I listened to the audio book by Brian Tracy called “No Excuses! The Power of Self-Discipline”. This book highlighted some key concepts on how to set goals effectively and to avoid the trap of making excuses. The author extolled the virtues of self discipline as a way to overcome making excuses.

There are 1,000 excuses for failure, but never a good reason.

– Mark Twain

To answer the question “Am I just making an excuse? The author provides his seven step method to achieving your goals without excuses below.

These steps help to create habits and the discipline necessary to achieving goals and overcoming excuses.

1. Decide what you want – Be specific, e.g., increase your income by a specific number
2. Write down the goal – It is something more tangible and visilble
3. Set a deadline – Write down the date to hold yourself accountable; can change the deadline as necessary. “There are no unrealistic goal, only unrealistic deadlines.”
4. Make a list of everything that you can think of to achieve your goal – List all the obstacles that may exist, plus the skills you need, and the support of people that you need
5. Organize the list by both sequence and priority – Sometimes these are the same, but sometimes they are not. Understanding the difference between both is necessary in time management.
6. Take immediate action – Take the first step as procrastination is the thief of time and life. Winners take the first step and willing to take action with no guarantee of success.
7. Do something every day that moves you toward your major goal – You do this seven days per week that provides momentum that energizes you toward your goal.

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