Results or Excuses?

It took me some time, but I learnt before too late that excuses and results (at least the kind of life-changing results we all crave) are mutually exclusive. The inclination to justify our actions or inaction is a disease we all fight with varying degrees of success. After all if I don't stand up for me, who will? It means simply, therefore, that we must make up our minds whether we want to continue to blame everything and everyone around us or we want to take responsibility for changing our circumstances.

The fact is, we can only judge a tree by the fruits that it bears. The fruit it has the potential to bear and those it is expected to bear are of consequence only as they stand in condemnation of the number it actually produces. In other words, our value to the market place is dependent on the quality of our results. In the long run it is only that which we do - our actions - not what we intended, hoped, planned or wanted to do that counts.

But oh how easy it is, in the face of challenges, to justify our inactions. How often have we told our selves with some degree of satisfaction that we do not have the resources to complete the new project at work, not enough time for exercising or regular reading or inadequate skills for tackling a task you've been wanting to get done. I'm pretty sure that at one time or another you have caught yourself saying "as soon as the weather changes," and maybe you've even gone as far thinking 'when the kids are grown." Excuses have a way of postponing, or denying us of the results we seek one small justifiable reason at a time.

So what will it be, excuses or results? Legitimate reasons for under achievement or a deliberate effort to press forward in spite of our realities? The fact is, there will always be genuine excuses waiting in the wings. Our weight loss programme can easily get shoved into the corner because of our hair concerns. Competing priorities at home are always going to impact our ability to read a book or spend time with our spouses. It is what it is. But we need to come to the place where we draw a line in the sand and say, "what will it be? Am I committed to the results I seek or will I forever justify my inaction with excuses. That power to choose is available to all us. I guess in the long run it all comes down to the results we seek.  

Let your 'WHY' lead you

It's been a long time since I have 'put pen to paper' on this blog. And it's not for lack of trying. Several times I have sat down in hopes of staying long enough with a thought to actually see it through to a paragraph. Still here I am struggling to wrap my head around something, anything meaningful about which to write. So I guess today's major lesson will be about making sure that your 'why' is bigger than the obstacles you face.....about learning to push through when it feels like you are groping in the dark, when you can't see the entire stair-case or when your life's GPS just doesn't seem to want to take you where you want to go.

So why should we  not wait til we are seized with the vibes and the energy that the task requires? Why should we not await the inspiration that is sure to come? What's the value of trudging on enduring the mental and physical exhaustion that comes from attempting to meet lofty goals? I guess its simply that some of us are not willing to risk the likelihood of our music dying within us......some of us are acutely aware of the value and urgency of momentum, of allowing our actions to keep pace with our heartbeat.  And so we press on.....in spite of our lack in the moment. We press on because our 'why' gives impetus to our actions.

The truth is life has no guarantees, and becoming a spectator to the unfolding of our own lives is certainly no way of ensuring that we win the game. Sitting out a round or two while we wait for our talents to manifest themselves, the writers block to mysteriously disappear, or an important business deal to land in our laps is certainly not the way to go. And learning to keep momentum in challenging times  requires that your purpose be more noble than your objective. That is, your motivation must be a greater push factor than the achievement of the goal itself.

 Why do you do the thing you currently struggle with? Is it not important enough to get you off your laurels and back into work mode? Does it not whisper to you a refrain of disciplined activity? Does it not say, 'it matters not that this moment of imperfection beguiles you." They say "Good is the enemy of great." I say great is, more often, the enemy of  good.  All too often the seeming enormity of the task prevents us from making that first move. "Great" intimidates us. I say anything worth doing is worth doing imperfectly for the time being. Imperfect action trumps no action any day. Today, I encourage you, by deliberate design, to rediscover your 'why,' dust it back off and make it the center piece of your life. There's no telling what you might be motivated to accomplish in spite of yourself.