Nancy J. Lewis, MS, SHRM-CP PHR, RCC So often, we make excuses why we don't do certain things in our life. When we do this, we often
delay walking into our destiny and adversely impact our integrity level. Consider the following five strategies the next time you find yourself making an excuse. 1. Be honest with yourself. It is important to look at yourself in the mirror and have a heart to heart and admit you have a problem. Don't continue to deny this is an area in your life you are okay with and hope it will simply go away without you addressing it. Others know you are making excuses, and it is time you face it also. It is important to state the problem out loud, acknowledging you recognize this is a problem you are going to fix. It is helpful to solicit the assistance of a trusted friend that will hold you accountable when you find yourself making excuses. 2. Set realistic expectations. Before you make commitments and say yes to something--even something small--ask yourself if you truly believe you can and will follow through. Some people set unrealistic goals and then fail in accomplishing their commitment. It is critical to have forethought and count the cost of what you are committing to. Look at the time constraints, the magnitude of the task and then make an informed decision. Sometimes you have to say no, and that is okay. It is better to say no than to repeatedly say yes and fall short of what you have committed to. Doing what you say you will do speaks to your level of integrity. Integrity is a lot easier to maintain than regain. So think before you commit! 3. Stop whining and start winning. Stop complaining about what you don't have and making negative confessions. It is so important to count your blessings and know that you win when you begin to speak positive statements of faith. Be slow to speak and swift to hear, and if what you are going to say is not in line with what you want to see manifest in your life, don't say it. Choose to move from whining about life and get in the game of winning in life. Become your own best cheerleader recognizing that greatness lives inside of you. 4. Take charge of what you need to do. Just determine in your heart that whatever you need to do to succeed, you will do. Be in charge of your life by making the right decisions and taking action on the goals you have set for yourself. Challenge yourself to know that you have skills, talents, and abilities inside you to make your dreams a reality. Don't look for others to do the things you need to do. Commit to what needs to be done and then do it. 5. Be solution-centered. Instead of focusing on your problem, begin to look at the possible solutions. What you focus on becomes greater, so why not focus on ways to resolve your situation? Be willing to ask for help from those individuals who have knowledge and skills that can help you. Don't let pride and ego keep you from getting valuable insight and wisdom from those who can shorten your learning curve and provide you with helpful solutions to the challenges you face. Choose to use your energy focusing on solutions and then be willing to take responsibility for your life.
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By Debra W. Gould, MS Have you reached your ultimate level of success? You know, that bar that you've set in your mind of what it means to reach "the top." It seems we could always do something that would improve our success. We could read more business leadership books, work harder, network to a broader circle ... and the list goes on. What's holding you back from reaching your defined level of success in both your work and personal life?
Here are a few suggestions to help you look for answers to these questions by sharing the top excuses we make on what's holding you back from reaching your level of success? 1. I don't have the knowledge or information. Unfortunately, this is an excuse for the mere fact that we live in a world of information overload. From Google and systems that generate "big data," information is at our fingertips from smartphones to tablets to wearable devices. 2. I don't have the education required. Education comes in all shapes and sizes. It doesn't necessarily require going back to college to get a degree. Again, the internet proves a wealth of e-learning opportunities that are fast and affordable. 3. I can't take a risk right now. This excuse will follow you forever. There is never a perfect time to take a risk. If that were the case, then there would be no "risk" to the situation. To move ahead, you have to give something up and this can be scary and uncomfortable. Don't let this stop you from success. =================== Debra W. Gould, MS is the president of Debra Gould & Associates, Inc. based in New Orleans and provides management consulting and training services to commercial and government clients. Debra is one of the founders of The Ebony Speakers and co-author of the book, Real Women, Real Issues - Positive Collaborations For Business Success. Debra can be reached at: (504) 244-6576 email: [email protected] and website: www:gouldassoc.com By Nancy J. Lewis, MS, SHRM-CP, PHR, RCC So often we make excuses why we don't do certain things in our life. When we do this, we often
delay walking into our destiny and adversely impact our integrity level. Consider the following five strategies the next time you find yourself making an excuse. 1. Be honest with yourself. It is important to look at yourself in the mirror and have a heart to heart and admit you have a problem. Don't continue to deny this is an area in your life you are okay with and hope it will simply go away without you addressing it. Others know you are making excuses and it is time you face it also. It is important to state the problem out loud acknowledging you recognize this is problem you are going to fix. It is helpful to solicit the assistance of a trusted friend that will hold you accountable when you find yourself making excuses. 2. Set realistic expectations. Before you make commitments and say yes to something--even something small--ask yourself if you truly believe you can and will follow through. Some people set unrealistic goals and then fail in accomplishing their commitment. It is critical to have forethought and count the cost of what you are committing to. Look at the time constraints, the magnitude of the task and then make an informed decision. Sometimes you have to say no and that is okay. It is better to say no than to repeatedly say yes and fall short of what you have committed to. Doing what you say you will do speaks to your level of integrity. Integrity is a lot easier to maintain than regain. So think before you commit! 3. Stop whining and start winning. Stop complaining about what you don't have and making negative confessions. It is so important to count your blessings and know that you win when you begin to speak positive statements of faith. Be slow to speak and swift to hear and if what you are going to say is not in line with what you want to see manifest in your life; don't say it. Choose to move from whining about life and get in the game of winning in life. Become your own best cheerleader recognizing that greatness lives inside of you. 4. Take charge of what you need to do. Just determine in your heart that whatever you need to do to succeed you will do. Be in charge of your life by making the right decisions and taking action on the goals you have set for yourself. Challenge yourself to know that you have skills, talents, and abilities inside you to make your dreams a reality. Don't look for others to do the things you need to do. Commit to what needs to be done and then do it. 5. Be solution centered. Instead of focusing on your problem, begin to look at the possible solutions. What you focus on becomes greater; so why not focus on ways to resolve your situation? Be willing to ask for help from those individuals who have knowledge and skills that can help you. Don't let pride and ego keep you from getting valuable insight and wisdom from those who can shorten your learning curve and provide you with helpful solutions to the challenges you face. Choose to use your energy focusing on solutions and then be willing to take responsibility for your life. Nancy J. Lewis, MS, PHR, RCC
So often we make excuses why we don't do certain things in our life. When we do this, we often delay walking into our destiny and adversely impact our integrity level. Consider the following five strategies the next time you find yourself making an excuse. 1. Be honest with yourself. It is important to look at yourself in the mirror and have a heart to heart and admit you have a problem. Don't continue to deny this is an area in your life you are okay with and hope it will simply go away without you addressing it. Others know you are making excuses and it is time you face it also. It is important to state the problem out loud acknowledging you recognize this is problem you are going to fix. It is helpful to solicit the assistance of a trusted friend that will hold you accountable when you find yourself making excuses. 2. Set realistic expectations. Before you make commitments and say yes to something--even something small--ask yourself if you truly believe you can and will follow through. Some people set unrealistic goals and then fail in accomplishing their commitment. It is critical to have forethought and count the cost of what you are committing to. Look at the time constraints, the magnitude of the task and then make an informed decision. Sometimes you have to say no and that is okay. It is better to say no than to repeatedly say yes and fall short of what you have committed to. Doing what you say you will do speaks to your level of integrity. Integrity is a lot easier to maintain than regain. So think before you commit! 3. Stop whining and start winning. Stop complaining about what you don't have and making negative confessions. It is so important to count your blessings and know that you win when you begin to speak positive statements of faith. Be slow to speak and swift to hear and if what you are going to say is not in line with what you want to see manifest in your life; don't say it. Choose to move from whining about life and get in the game of winning in life. Become your own best cheerleader recognizing that greatness lives inside of you. 4. Take charge of what you need to do. Just determine in your heart that whatever you need to do to succeed you will do. Be in charge of your life by making the right decisions and taking action on the goals you have set for yourself. Challenge yourself to know that you have skills, talents, and abilities inside you to make your dreams a reality. Don't look for others to do the things you need to do. Commit to what needs to be done and then do it. 5. Be solution centered. Instead of focusing on your problem, begin to look at the possible solutions. What you focus on becomes greater; so why not focus on ways to resolve your situation? Be willing to ask for help from those individuals who have knowledge and skills that can help you. Don't let pride and ego keep you from getting valuable insight and wisdom from those who can shorten your learning curve and provide you with helpful solutions to the challenges you face. Choose to use your energy focusing on solutions and then be willing to take responsibility for your life. |
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