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Don't fall into the habit of finding excuses not to take action
Wednesday, 5 December 2007
Sometimes it's good not to take action. It's just not called for under some circumstances and can actually make things worse. I've written about this before.
But a far more common problem people suffer from is finding excuses not to take action. Deep down inside, many of us are lazy. Our bodies and minds are designed to conserve energy. They simply don't always understand the modern world we live in, and will try to find any old excuse not to do things.
In many cases, it's those who take action who have the most success in this life. That's the truth even if their actions turn out wrong.
When you think about it, this makes sense. How do you change an unsuccessful person into a successful one? Clearly, at the very least, a few things have to change in reality.
You might have to find them a better job, more money, a partner, and a higher level of health. Any other number of things may have to change in order to meet your definition of success.
Now there's the possibility that these changes may occur on their own, externally to any effort on your own part. That cute person at work may fall in love with you, your immediate boss may quit and leave you their job, or a rich aunt may die and leave you everything.
Yeah, right!
For most of us, such hopes may be a nice way to daydream away a lazy Sunday, but generally they just aren't going to happen. Reality is indifferent to your desires for success.
So there's only one way such success is going to occur and that's if you take action to make it happen.
But here's where it gets difficult, because you'll find all sorts of excuses not to take action. You'll convince yourself not to call that person, because they're probably busy and don't want to be bothered. You'll decide you enjoy smoking too much to give it up. You'll miss the deadline for applying for that job because you feel bad about leaving your boss with nobody to fill your role.
Action is what you need to take, but first you must overcome the weight of routine. And you'll look for all sorts of excuses not to do so.
Recognise such internal thoughts for what they are. They're natural and everyone has them. Acknowledge them, then move on and do what needs to be done.
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