Is the Vision More Important than the Excuse?

Want something? Make it happen! Or do you really want it? (By the way, it’s okay if you don’t. But it’s much more powerful to hold ourselves accountable to what’s more important today, than to come up with excuses.)

I saw a post on a social media platform the other day. A woman I know was proudly sharing her successful efforts to get fit over the last 3 years. She’s done a great job! Someone replied to her, “I wish I had that motivation.”

My immediate thought was, ‘You DO have that motivation! You just have to use it!’ - OR – is it as important to you as it was to your friend?

The thing is – we are all capable of doing so many things we chalk up to ‘no motivation’, ‘no time’, ‘no will power’, ‘I was waiting for someone else to ask/start’… Think about it. When was a time when you REALLY wanted to accomplish something, so much so that you could just feel it in your pores? Did it matter that there were other things on the calendar? Did motivation matter? No! Nothing could stop you! You rescheduled things, you set boundaries, you prioritized and made it happen!

💡 This could be as big as bringing home your first dog or taking that class to learn something you always wanted to learn or asking someone interesting at work to lunch or taking an exotic vacation, or starting a fitness plan, or having a particular conversation with your boss; or something as small as reading a book or taking 10 minutes every night to sit quietly and breathe to clear your head…

The thing to consider the next time you start to blurt out the excuse about ‘WHY YOU CAN’T’, is:

💡 Do I really want it badly enough?

💡 Do I really want it more than I want something else right now?

Here’s an exercise that can help:

1. First ask, what is it that you think you want? Be clear and to the point.

Next, let’s really give it some good thought…. (do not cut these next steps short, because these are about creating the VISION, and with VISION, we can go anywhere)…

2. What’s important to you about this? Describe this in as much detail as you possibly can.

3. What will it give you? Even MORE detail now! What will it feel like? What will it look like? What will it BE like? How will your life be better/different with it than without it?

4. How will you know you have it? This is the measurement of success.

Now, if you have gotten to this point and you’re not yet taking that first step, then the last question is:

5. What’s more important to me right now?

We ALL have the ability to achieve whatever it is we can dream up. We ALL can find motivation! We CAN make time! So, before the excuse, check in with yourself.

Is the vision really more important than the excuse?