There's an old Yiddish proverb that goes, "If you don't want to do something, one excuse is as good as another." In other words, if you're NOT doing something, what does it matter why?
We recently polled our friends on Twitter for a list of the most common excuses for NOT making ideas happen. Not surprisingly, the response was overwhelming. We can all make a list of excuses as long as our arm for why we're not taking action.
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So what's the point of us listing them out here? Reason No. 1: To face facts. If we recognize the patterns we fall into, we can change them. Reason No. 2: To invalidate them. As an antidote to inaction, we've provided a counter-argument for each excuse. Don't commiserate, instigate!
Common excuses for NOT making ideas happen:
1. I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME. Extra time, like money, rarely just materializes out of thin air. We have to work for it. If "finding creative time" is a struggle for you, consider getting proactive about carving it out, and doing the most important work first.
2. I'M AFRAID OF FAILURE. If we really push ourselves, we will fail more than we'll succeed. But that's how we gain experience, how we learn, how we grow. The greater failure is to never risk failure at all. Choreographer Twyla Tharp: "If you do only what you know and do it very, very well, chances are that you won't fail. You'll just stagnate, and your work will get less and less interesting, and that's failure by erosion."
3. I'M NOT INSPIRED. Inspiration comes from action, not the other way around. Our friends at Red Lemon Club shared this insightful tidbit from leadership guru John C. Maxwell: ""The whole idea of motivation is a trap. Forget motivation. Just do it. Exercise, lose weight, test your blood sugar, or whatever. Do it without motivation. And then, guess what? After you start doing the thing, that's when the motivation comes and makes it easy for you to keep on doing it."
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