No Excuse Justifies Lying...to Yourself

“If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.” ~ Mark Twain

We have always valued men and women of high principle – those for whom integrity is held aloft as a standard. But we have seen our so-called leaders caught in many lies publically in the news and this destroys our ability to continue to hold them in the same place of value.

They are human beings such as we are, and although they seem to be held to a higher standard, what kind of standard are you holding yourself to? Do you always exercise integrity? Do you permit “little white lies?”

A lie is an excuse to justify your inability to tell the full truth. Perhaps you consider yourself shy, another way to say you don’t have much courage unfolded. Is there a long list of excuses in your mind that you can pull out to justify why you’re not doing something you know you should be doing? Positive change requires total honesty. It’s one thing not to lie to another. It’s an entirely different thing not to lie (or make excuses) to yourself. My mind is always saying to me “Now you know that’s not so!”

What are some of the lies we tell ourselves in order to maintain some semblance of comfort and just jog in place instead of Being the Change?

I Lost My Window of Opportunity. We all know about “doing it later.” Later never comes, does it? You are consciously saying to yourself if you use this excuse “I don’t want to. I just want to sit here as is.” When it becomes later, will you feel more like doing it? I don’t think so. Nice was right when they adopted the slogan “Just Do It!” Right now is what you’ve got. It’s a gift. Use it and value it. You can never make a dream come true if you think you can do it later. You’ve only got now to do it.

I’m Not Able to Do It. Fear makes even small tasks look difficult. Push past the fear and you will discover it’s not hard at all. Your mind has lots of “Oh Lord I am not worthy or capables” in there and you just have to call those ideas out for the liars they are. You won’t know if your capable or not until you try doing it. And in the trying, you’ll begin to see you can. You’ll grow the self-confidence so necessary to drown out those “not worthy” thoughts.

I’ll Just Take this Little Break. McDonald’s had us all believing “you deserve a break today” and sure, breaks are necessary, but when the break becomes the habit, you have to ask yourself if this is the way to plan to handle your life. What about your plan? Can you implement your plan while taking breaks? How important are your goals to you anyway? Isn’t achieving the goal reward enough, or do you have to have the break, too? You can see these work against one another. It’s your choice.

“They” Have it Easier Than I Do. Ah, they! They take a bum rap for so much. When you look at any other human being, remember that you are seeing only one small snapshot of their life. You don’t see what preceded that picture or what followed it. You don’t have enough information to know if they have it easier or not. You may not see all the hundreds of tries they made to get ready for that one picture. Listen, we all have obstacles and struggles. Thinking about how others handle things vs. trying to do it yourself isn’t rational. There are so many people whose obstacles are way worse than yours. Man up here, and get busy creating your dreams.

There Just Isn’t Enough Time. It’s true that many tasks are given to the busiest people, and it’s also true that they get them done, someway, somehow. Do they say they don’t have enough time? I don’t think so. If you think that there isn’t enough time, that is what you will create because your thought is causative. If you think “I can weave this in” then that is what you will create. If you had three categories of tasks – Absolutely Must Do, Probably Should Do, and Maybe Could Do – if you only got the first one done, you’d be well along your way. And you’d surprise yourself how many of the Probably Should Do category you’d get done, too.

I’ll Let it Slide Just This Once. A little allowance. One small slip. It’s so very alluring and if you indulge it, your mind jumps on it and says “Ah ha! We got her this time. It’s a weakness in the chain and we can attack it more the next time.” If I let myself indulge this “one little lie” there would be no Change Coaching Institute, no Khalifé Enterprises, nothing. This one is insidious, dear readers. Be on the alert.

Should Life Be Only About Hard Work? I don’t know about one viable thing in this earth experience that was built without hard work, do you? Life can be looked at as a mental sandwich: part work, part play, part serious thinking, and part restful enjoyment. If you make excuses about ‘why should I have to work so hard,’ you’re missing out on ¾ of the sandwich. I love to work, and I also love to play. Somehow, the two are companions in my mind. I wouldn’t dream of only doing one of them. You have to work at your business in order to have a business. I think the secret is figuring out what you love the most, and when you do what you love, the work becomes play.

To Heck With It. I’ll Just Quit and Begin Over Someday. Has “someday” come for you? It never has for me. I love the picture of a bulldog determinedly tugging at the toy he wants. He never quits. He will have it, by golly. Persevere. Persist. Continue. Never quit. Every impediment is not a “Let’s Quit Now” flag. Take a deep breath, and then see what you can do to recoup your losses and plow forward. You could be very close to the success you dream of, so don’t stop working at it. Think about the runner who’s exhausted toward the end of his marathon, who give it one more burst of speed and crosses the line. Do that.

Telling yourself sweet little lies camouflages your fear, your doubt, your laziness – some lack you sense inside yourself. Take care of these lacks and you’ll never have to lie again. You can then hold you up for acclaim.