Anticipate your excuses.
You have goals and dreams but more often than not you never see them come to life. You start off really motivated but at some point, your excuses trump your motivation. Sometimes those reasons for quitting or inaction are valid. Other times, and almost always, they’re coming from a place of fear. Call it self-doubt or self-handicapping. You’re trying to protect yourself. So, how do you remove yourself as a barrier to accomplishing your goals?
Anticipate your excuses.
But don’t just think about them. Write them down. We’ve designed a tool for you to do just this (check it out here). Or you can take a piece of paper and fold it in half. At the top of the page write down your goal or the habit you’re trying to change. On the left side write down your excuses. And on the right side, counter your excuse. Write why it’s invalid or potential solutions.
Keep this list as a work in progress, adding your excuses as they come. And remember, excuses are not the problem and should not be ignored. The problem is when you let your excuses stop you from accomplishing your goals. So when the resistance is strong and those excuses get louder and louder, return to that list. Remind yourself why your excuse is BS and keep moving forward.
“Rule of thumb: The more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.” Steven Pressfield
