Live Your Life with No Excuses
In the blogging world, there are many obstacles standing between you and the finish line. But what happens when you live your life with no excuses?
What’s the best predictor of success?
Believe it or not, it’s not how smart you are, your connections, or even having a wealthy family.
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No, the best predictor of success is your mindset.
And more specifically, it is living your life with no excuses.
Understanding that we have the ability to take control of our own destiny and move past those things that are keeping us stuck, is critical for almost anything we want to achieve- in business and in life.
My friend Susie from Episode 2 of the Do It Scared Podcast was actually born with the deck stacked against her. She grew up in poverty on the UK’s version of welfare, with a mom who suffered from mental illness, and an alcoholic dad who would disappear regularly, sometimes for months or years at a time.
And then there’s my friend Edie, who joined me here in Episode 10, who had a similarly traumatic childhood…An alcoholic dad. Extreme poverty. Frequent hunger. No stability.
And here’s the thing: Both Susie and Edie could have easily let their disadvantages define their life. After all, how could one possibly be expected to overcome such extreme poverty and dysfunction?
But they refused to see themselves as victims. Their determination and drive to rise above their circumstances started with their conscious decision to stop making excuses.
Susie is now a bestselling author and inspires thousands of people to live their best lives, as she lives hers.
Edie graduated with honors, went on to medical school, became a family physician and then eventually started her own wildly successful business.
Both Susie and Edie show us that, truly, a no-excuses mindset is the only way.
So how do we actually adopt this kind-of no-excuses mentality?
In Episode 17 of the Do It Scared® Podcast, you will learn 3 specific steps you can take right now that will help you cut out excuses. I promise once you make it a habit, you will never let excuses hold you back again!
Below is a quick recap of the three steps I take to adopt a zero excuses approach in my own life:
KNOW THAT THE ONLY THING YOU CONTROL IS YOU
There is so much in life that is outside of our control. And, at some point, the deck will be stacked against you, and something won’t be fair. Someone will treat you badly. You might get sick or injured. You’ll have a financial setback. You’ll be betrayed. The ONLY sure thing about life is that it is completely and utterly unpredictable. And that’s why it is so critically important to understand, in the core of your being, that the only thing you will ever be able to control is you.
But make no mistake–taking full responsibility for your own life can feel pretty scary. It means that there is nothing left to hide behind and that you are standing out there in the open, vulnerable, exposed, and raw. And that takes real courage.
LOOK FOR A ROLE MODEL, NOT A RESCUER
No one wants to feel like they are going it alone, wading into uncharted territory all by themselves. It’s comforting to be able to follow in someone else’s footsteps and reassuring to know that whatever you are trying to do is actually possible because someone else has done it. But there’s a catch. Looking for a role model is not the same thing as waiting to be rescued.
When you actively seek out a role model for guidance, you are assuming responsibility and taking ownership of your journey. You are being proactive, not reactive, and you understand that the job of your role model is not to do the work for you, but to show you that it can be done, and to offer guidance along the way. Luckily, there are role models and teachers and coaches and mentors everywhere you look—you just have to start looking.
EVEN A GOOD EXCUSE IS STILL AN EXCUSE
If you are looking for an excuse, you will always be able to find one. But even a good excuse is still just an excuse. The only way to escape the disease of excusitis is to refuse to make it an option, under any circumstances.