What’s the Difference Between A Reason and an Excuse?
I was listening to my absolute favorite podcast “Secret to Success” when the three hosts were talking about reasons and excuses we sometimes use to justify slacking off or quitting.
The hosts drop so many gems on each podcast that sometimes they don’t have enough time to focus on one idea no matter how brilliant.
On this particular episode, they briefly compared reasons and excuses and that’s when I started thinking about the difference between the two.
For example, in the past two months I’ve only been to the gym about three times.
Since moving to South Africa, I had to start a new job, get my wife and kids settled in, work on getting my dog shipped to South Africa (super difficult in case you’re wondering), finding an internet provider, buying a used car, and a bunch of other stuff.
Plus, by the time I get home after work, it’s time to talk to my kids and wife, eat dinner, and then get the kids into bed. I’m too exhausted to even think about going to a gym in the evenings.
These are all valid reasons why I haven’t been able to hit the gym as much as I should.
But when I put this situation under a microscope I see something else. I realize those reasons are actually excuses.
An excuse and a reason can BOTH be true and that’s why we can so easily deceive ourselves.
While I haven’t found time to go to the gym nothing is stopping me from doing a 15-minute exercise routine at home. I can do push-ups, sit ups, go for a jog in morning, do jumping jacks, etc.
There’s a lot I can do at home without going to a gym.
But telling myself I don’t have time or that I haven’t adjusted to my new schedule it gives me something to blame other than myself.
And that’s when I realized valid reasons turn into excuses when we allow those mental obstacles to convince us not to take action.
It’s in that subtle moment when we chose to accept an obstacle, setback, or disappointment as the reason why we can’t do something that we cross the territory from reason to excuse.
Recently, I was teaching my kids the importance of being persistent and not giving up too easily so I decided to show them a YouTube video about Nick Vujicic’s life.
Born without arms and legs, Nick is motivational speaker whose has inspired and brought hope to millions of people around the world.
Aided by one tiny foot, Nick uses it for typing, shaking hands, and gripping things. Even more amazing, Nick can also skateboard, play golf, surf, swim, and even play the piano.
As I watch Nick do these things, I can’t believe it!
Nick, and his parents, could have easily accepted the “disabled” label and count the valid reasons to not even try, but instead he chose not to accept those limitations. He fought back against the temptation to create excuses by focusing on what he did have and what he could do.
Nick didn’t cross over into excuses territory.
How many times have we given up, or even worse, not tried something because our mental calculation had already figured out the math to turn those reasons into valid excuses?
Valid reasons can lead to real excuses, but only if we allow them.
The next time you convince yourself you can’t do something or that you shouldn’t even try ask yourself if those are reasons or excuses.
Try to catch yourself in the moment.
So, is there any area in your life where you’ve let honest reasons turn into valid excuses for not attempting to accomplish something you really wanted?