The Excuses Experiment
And the astonishing results
Vanessa was in her thirties but she still vividly remembered those days back in high school when she got her report cards. She dreaded those days. She would hand the report cards to her father then sit down in her chair at the dining table.
Her father took the report cards then sat down in his chair at the head of the table. With him it was not just a matter of looking at her grades and expressing a general satisfaction or dissatisfaction. He went through each class and demanded an explanation for the grade she got in each class.
“A C in biology? Seriously? Why did you get a C in biology?”
“Because we were dissecting frogs and it creeped me out. I hated it.”
“Vanessa, that is not a reason. It’s an excuse! If you are ‘creeped out’ then you need to get over that so that you can learn.”
“You got a B in English? Really? I thought you liked English.”
“I do but Ms. Jenkins thinks my poetry is too whiny.”
“Well I’m not surprised! You’re a very whiny girl, Vanessa. You’re always making excuses! If you were to ever stop whining and do the work then you will finally find success! This better be an A next time!”
