Excuses

The excuse only takes from your give.

You leave the house to meet your friend for lunch — late.

You feel the anxiety in your stomach, and your brain begins to swirl with this excuse or that excuse until you find the most logical excuse (to you) similar to finding money in your jeans on laundry day.

You’re excited; you found the reason, the logical outcome for your tardiness and now it is time to present the excuse. The excuse falls out your mouth onto the table, mixed the typical greetings and maybe even a hug, apologies accepted and you move on.

Lunch goes off without a hitch, the time enjoyable and company much needed — but only if you had more of it. So, you stay a little longer to close out the conversation, leaving you no time to make your next appointment without being late.

What now? You need another excuse! You search through your excuse bucket, looking under excuse rocks and viola, there it is, like a magician you find the excuse.

You’re late because your lunch server did not bring the check or your friend was late, and the cycle perpetuates itself until you stop it.

Excuses rob from your give, waste cycles of energy, cultivating little, bitty, lies that snowball into habits. When you make an excuse, you are taking from the person, commitment or project without asking permission. Here is the rub, an excuse does not fix anything, it only erodes at your ability to work, provide, and in the end give. In the absence of giving, you are taking.