Excuses: Pathetic Excuses for Failure

A different but effective approach to motivation: Tough Love (Move On).

The phrase “he’s had a hard life” is a common, over-used one. Here’s a thought that many people haven’t considered  : Every one has had a rough life. Do we let these periods of our lives define us? Never.  Isn’t that what life is all about? Overcoming the challenges. People are using too many excuses and are letting their failures define them. Every person known for doing something great has had problems, failures, and obstacles. Did they stop at the sight of the first couple, or first couple hundred, challenges? No way. That’s not the spirit of a champion, a pursuer of greatness, or a warrior. In his presentation “The Last Lecture,” Randy Pausch quoted, “Brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.”

Are you going to be someone who lets failed attempts move you to life’s wayside? Are you willing to throw away a potentially amazing ride because of a couple of setbacks? If you can’t answer this on your own, let me answer it for you. No. Heck no. There is no way that you, a valuable, loved person will waste your life on setbacks and excuses. You are too good for that. You have potential that extends far beyond what failure can do to you. Excuses and failure would love to get you down. They’d love to see you give in to their power. But will you? Never.

The next time you want to blame life’s circumstances for your failures or use lame excuses for your current situations, think again. Man up. Grow up. And move on. You’ve got a life to live. Yours.

The Goodness of People

We all hate them. Yes, “them.” The people who ride our tails although we are obviously going over the speed limit. After driving 2 cm behind us for the past 5 miles, they proceed to change lanes, flip us off, and cut us off. How can anybody so unthoughtful and unaware have any goodness in them? The truth is , however frustrating it may be to admit, is that even in the person that triggers your worst road rage has goodness in them. Proof of this lies in the first chapter of Genesis, verse 27 : “God created man in his own image…” If people are created in the image of God, there is no way that we don’t have goodness in our being. Genesis 1: 31 says, “God saw all that he had made and it was very good.” This should make our goodness evident above all else. So the next time somebody cuts you off, remember that they are good and God loves them very much.

When God talked about making everyone in his image, he was talking about you too. You are “very good,” as God says in verse 31. Furthermore, God wanted to create you. He thought very carefully about what he wanted you to be like. Then he carefully, with great detail, made you in his image. His amazing image. Never forget the goodness of God and remembers that this goodness lives in each one of us.