What's Your Excuse?

Excuses are the worst. We all make them, even if they are just little ones. But excuses rob us of progress. The worst thing about making excuses is that sometimes, often times we’re not even aware that what we are saying really are excuses. They may seem like practical thought-out reasons something cannot be accomplished; they may seem like a logical progression derived from the facts at hand. They may just seem comfortable and reasonable. You’ve probably heard or said something similar: “I can’t afford it,” “I don’t have enough time,” “there isn’t anyone to help me,” “I don’t know enough about it,” “I don’t want to do it alone,” “It sounds too complicated,” “It’s all their fault,” “I’m not to blame.”

At the heart of them all they are just jabs of negativity robbing us of our goals, sabotaging our successes and fueling our discontent. The trouble is, we get so used to saying and hearing these sorts of things, they become second nature, comfortable, even reliable. Getting stuck in an excuse pattern is dangerous, because that cycle of negativity feeds on itself and before you know it, your entire way of thinking is adversely affected to the point where you can’t even see the positive thing you once dreamed of attaining.

I’ve made excuses; I’ve even believed them and convinced myself I was right. For years I thought I couldn’t learn to play the Saxophone, because I didn’t have time for lessons, there was no time in my day, I didn’t have an instrument. Notice the negativity there? Well, I slowly saved up enough money and bought a sax, then devoted just 10 minutes a day to practicing and within a few months I could do it. 

I also made excuses about writing. For a long time I kept telling myself I had no time. I kept procrastinating and putting it off. I’d tell myself that in some far off distance future ‘when I had the time’ I would write. I’d say things like “When I graduate I’ll start writing,” “When I go on vacation I’ll write,” “I’ll do it on the weekend.” I convinced myself that writing existed in some vague ethereal plan of ‘the future.’ Of course that was folly. I lied to myself to cover up the truth. And the truth was that I didn’t have any discipline to write ‘now.’ I still dreamed about it and sporadically put pen to paper, but had no consistency. I’ve recounted this next part of the story before but it bears repeating. I had a discussion with my brother, who said “Maybe you’re not really a writer. Maybe you should just give up on it, because you don’t seem to care about it enough to actually write.” You see that was like a punch in the face. Me; not a writer? Who the hell was he to say that? I’ll tell you. At that point he was the person who saw through the excuses.

That discussion changed my perspective and a year later, I have the first draft of a novel completed! Once we strip away the layers of excuses and the comfort they bring we are exposed to the truth. If you really want something, you CAN make it happen. You just have to believe in yourself and your abilities. I’m not saying everything is possible, but if you really try you can reach your goals. The positive state of mind can reinforce your resolve just as much as the negative state of mind can erode it. 

Choose the positive perspective. It can start as easily as changing the way you speak. Speak in positive terms like: “I can do x,” as opposed to “I can’t do x.” I’ve been reminded of this technique recently and I’m amazed at just how negative some of my thinking has been. Find help, ask a friend and really start critiquing how you think, speak, and perceive the world. Expose the excuses and clear the road for positivity.   

"Anything unattempted remains impossible"

Thanks for reading. Questions and Comments are welcome.

Do You Ever Wonder Why You Fail?

Douglas Clark
-Head writer, The Inspiration Engine

Do you ever wonder why you fail? Of course you do. Failure sucks but it seems unavoidable. We should all strive for success but be prepared for failure, because unlike success, failure can teach us a lot. We can learn where we need help, where we need practice, motivation, instruction, experience, focus, the list is almost endless. But failure can be deceiving. It can teach you to give up and that’s a terrible outcome. When you fail, you need to persist; not at failing, but at attempting the next success. To put it another way, if you failed, you need to go back to square one, start over again, and give it another go.

Now I’m sure you’ve heard the old quote attributed to Einstein, the line goes something like “The definition of crazy is trying the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.” Okay, so I’m not advocating craziness, but I am advocating persistence. Trying again, with a different perspective, a different focus, a different motivation, a different plan, the key here is to try again. I’ll put it into context for you. Regular exercise and fitness is important to a person’s health, and it’s especially important to me. So, I work out about three days a week. The habit now is so ingrained into my psyche and daily life, I feel out of sorts when I don’t get to the gym. I’m not a muscle head to be sure, but I have made the commitment to go. But how did I do that, you might ask? 

Well, in the beginning, every day I went to the gym, I counted it as the first day, even if it was the third time that week. I told myself that going on that day was the most important day and that I couldn’t skip out on it. So I went. And on the days where work or personal requirements got in the way, I made sure I went the very next day, keeping in mind that that day was the most important day I needed to go. During times when I couldn’t go three days a week, I made sure I went twice. Every week that was short, I made sure the following week hit the mark. So you see, every time I failed, I tried again, recommitting myself to what was important, keeping my goal in sight but staying focused on Now.

It may seem ridiculous or just silly trying to trick your mind into being committed. However, when you are trying to readjust your life and mindset, you need to change the way you think about things. Remember if you change your perspective, you change the world. This is the same idea. Give it a shot.

This amazing picture is called The Galaxy, the see of stars.  Checkout more amazing artwork at Kagaya Space. 

Comments and questions are welcome. Thanks for reading. 

What is greatness?

Philosophers have been trying to answer that question for ages.  The idea of Greatness occupies the minds of many, controlling their thoughts, actions, and entire lives.  But the question remains: What is Greatness?  Also, how does one obtain it, retain it, recognize it, utilize it, and wield it effectively?  The big problem here is defining Greatness.  Whose definition is correct?  Do we go with the militaristic view and say Greatness is when someone can command others, lead him/herself and others to victory over competing forcers?  Do we go with the economic view and say Greatness is when someone can accumulate the most wealth by manipulating the system to its fullest?  Do we go with the religious view and say Greatness is when someone represents themselves as the best human reflection of their god, or follows the tenants of their religion as devoutly as possible?  The possibilities and avenues we could go down in trying to define Greatness are vast and wide.  So the obvious course of action is to try and understand what Greatness means on a personal level.

Is that easier?  Probably not, but it’s certainly less involved than including all the above examples.  I like to think of Greatness in terms of personal evolution.  To me, I’m in competition with no one but myself.  I believe that I am the single greatest resource I have.  I can provide the psychological foundation, motivational framework, and positive perspective I need to achieve something greater than I did yesterday.  Sounds lofty doesn’t it?  Sure, and I’ve failed at it more times than I’d like to admit.  But as I’ve said many times, it’s the attempt to succeed that is a success.  It may sound cliché, but you only have to get up one more time than you fell down.  So, how does this help define and ultimately achieve personal Greatness? 

Knowing that when it’s all said and done, you are in competition with no one but yourself, all you need to do is improve; One day at a time.  Look at it this way: Take a moment and reflect on your life  up until now.  If that’s too much, take the last year, six months, week, if you will.  Are you doing better, have you accomplished a goal, or even set one?  If the answer is no, than you are not living up to your own potential.  If that’s the case you can never achieve personal greatness.  But why is personal greatness important you might ask?  Why should you even be concerned with the loft pie in the sky idea of greatness?  Because, we’re talking about your life!  You only get one and if you don’t make the most of it, life will pass you by and you’ll have nothing to show for it.  Is that what you want?  I’m sure not. Personal Greatness is the culmination of your mission.  You don’t have to command armies, have a massive vault of gold, recite scripture verbatim, or whatever anyone else’s definition of greatness may be.  What you should strive to do is be better today than you were yesterday and be better tomorrow than you were today.  It’s a worthy endeavor to improve your life, for your own life’s sake.  Greatness is a state of mind you can have where you know your life had and has positive meaning.  It is possible and you can and should do it.  So, be Great!

Feel free to leave a comment or question.  I'd love to hear what you're thinking!  Thanks for reading.

Be not the first by which a new thing is tried, or the last to lay the old aside

- Alexander Pope.

Changing times call for new experiences.  I think Alexander's quote speaks to that fact.  At its very core, I thin the meaning of this quote is telling us to at least try, make the attempt at doing.  You don't have to be the first to try something, just don't be the last.  If you have a mission in life, a purpose, or a passion,  making the attempt at bringing it to life is important.  Do not wait and let the world pass you by.  The time is now!

What’s really important?

Douglas Clark

-Head writer, The Inspiration Engine

That may seem like a simple, even trite question to ask.  If you give it more than a passing thought, the deeper meaning of it starts to shine through.  What is really important?  I mean the life-long stuff, the things that make you want to get out of bed in the morning, the stuff that gets your heart pumping, your body moving; those things. 

I’m not talking about getting up and getting to work, paying the bills, or making sure you get the laundry done.  The day-to-day minutia of life is important on a small scale, but there should and Must be a deeper meaning in your life (your Mission) to make it all worth it.  Now it might come as no shock that a lot of people don’t have a mission, or what some might call Passion.  They drift through life without any foundational drive or motivation.  Is that you?  I must admit, there have been times where I felt completely directionless, lost even.  There have been times where I could see the path before me clear as day, and hated the direction it was leading me in.  See, it’s not so much enough to have a passion and direction, but you must be willing and wanting to go down that road as well.

How do you decide?  Well, it has to be important to you; the whole thing, not just the end goal.  To have meaning and value, the process of getting from your dream to your reality must be endurable and enjoyable, at least on some level.  I’ve spent many a moment pondering what was important and what wasn’t.  At the very foundation, I know it’s important to at least attempt to live up to my potential.  Sometimes that can be hard, especially if at some point you realize you were reaching.  Mistakes are worth it most of the time. But Only if you learn from them. When you do, you’ll start to realize what is really important!