Paul McGee, the SUMO guy, sent a great email out last week about Making Excuses.  Sadly he doesn't blog, so here it is.

 

Dear Ian

Helen and I did something quite daring over Christmas. We cooked together.

Perhaps the term 'cooked' is stretching it a bit, but whilst I poached the eggs, Helen stood guard over the toaster.
And then something strange happened.

 

The toast popped up and Helen swung into action to butter her  piece of toast.

 

My piece remained untouched.

 

Sensing my indignation, not to mention hurt, at the breakdown of what up until that point had been some effective teamwork, she piped up

 

"I won't butter your toast as I'm not sure how you like it spreading"

 

I was dumbfounded. In the annals of history had there ever been a more feeble excuse for not doing something? (Actually I'm sure there has and I probably came up with it, but you get my point)

 

Aside from the fact that we've been married for over twenty-one years - just how many ways can you butter a piece of toast? It's not like Helen works in Starbucks and had been asked for a coffee. In that case there's probably over 379 possible alternatives. But buttering toast?

 

Helen sat and enjoyed her delicious poached egg, seasoned with a pinch of salt and a dash of HP sauce, whilst I buttered my own toast.

 

The whole episode got me thinking. If I'm honest I know I'm good at making excuses. We all are.

 

But what are the consequences of excessive excuse making?

In twelve months time we will have a chance to look back on 2009. Some goals will have been achieved, others forgotten. Some dreams will have been fulfilled, others will have been binned. If we're not careful though, what we fail to achieve will be casually dismissed under a blanket of excuses, as we attempt to cover up our lack of success.

 

Common ones will include:

"I was just so busy"

"It was the economic down-turn"

"I just didn't have time"

"I didn't know where to start"

"I've no will power"

"Customers just aren't buying"

"We got off to a difficult start and its was downhill from there"

"It was just one of those things. There was nothing I could do"

 

Ok I admit there may be genuine reasons why certain objectives aren't met but I wonder just how honest we are with ourselves at times? Is our lack of success more to do with the following two factors?
 

The B.S.E. Syndrome

Too often we are quick to Blame Someone Else when things go wrong, rather than first look at ourselves in the mirror. Others may be partly responsible but does the blame lie 100% with them?

So quit playing the blame game. It takes up too much time and emotional energy. And where does it get you? Identify who is responsible by all means but then move on. Two great questions to ask would be
"What can we learn from this?"
"How can we influence and improve the situation?"

The CIBA Syndrome

Let's be blunt about this. Sometimes our lack of success or progress in life is due to the fact that we answered "Not really" to the following question:- "Can I Be Ars*d?"

If that's you then be honest enough to admit it. It's your life, your choice. And I hope you're happy with the consequences of such an attitude. Maybe you are.

But are other people?
Is your partner?
Are your kids?
Is your boss?
Are your customers?

 

Remember everything you say and do, and everything you don't say and do has a consequence. Your attitude and behaviour makes an impact. Whether you like it or not, you are creating a legacy.

Is it time to come up with a different answer to the Can I Be Ars*d question?

 

In terms of excuses let me end this section with the following thoughts.

We're often encouraged to give something up for the season of Lent. How about we give up excuses? But not just for a season - but for a lifetime.

And why don't we make that decision right now.

 

Yours

 

Paul McGee