Perhaps, it is a natural reaction for humans to avoid being blamed, hence the quick reaction to pass them immediately to others. This is not surprising since Adam himself blamed God for giving him Eve that resulted to their banishment from Eden.
The denials you resort to today may not have as heavy consequence as Adam had but they could be devastating, too, since they could prevent you from succeeding in achieving success in life. Here are the following common alibis that sabotage your becoming successful:
- “It is too late to start now”: Nothing could disprove this alibi better than the lives of famous people who achieved fame at their more advanced ages. Among them are:
- Harland Sanders “The Colonel” of KFC fame didn’t become the string-tied chicken king until he was 65.
- Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of some o the world’s beloved children books including “Little House on the Prairie” wrote her first novel at 65.
- The famous painter Anna Mary Robertson Moses, better known as “Grandma Moses”, did not pick up a brush until she was into her 80’s.
- Edmond Hoyle, first technical writer on the rules of card games, started recording these rules when he was about 70.
- Jack Cover, the nuclear physicist, invented the taser gun in 1970 at the age of 50.
- Ronald Reagan, a famous Hollywood actor, was elected president of US at 55.
Age, therefore, is just a number and has no bearing in pursuing your dreams. Start taking those tiny steps now. Do not use your age as an alibi for not achieving your goals.
“I am not qualified”: Do school drop outs such as Steve Jobs of Microsoft, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, or Michael Dell any better qualified than you or most non-achievers, for that matter? A college degree may be a way of getting your foot in the door, but it is not the only way. In fact, strong determination could be a better motivation to succeed.
- “I have no time”: Time is something that is equally given to everyone, not a second less, not a second more. If there are those who could maximize each second of the 24 hours allotted to them improve their lives, why couldn’t you? This is one factor that you could not just explain away so you better find a more plausible reason to defend your alibi for failing to succeed because it definitely is not time. Your failure is either due plain laziness or your lack of proper time management, both of which could easily be remedied if you want to.
- “It is not the proper time yet”: The best time to act for your success is now. Actually, it should have been yesterday but no use crying over spilt milk. Tomorrow will never come because it is always one day ahead and it would never be today for you. This lame excuse of waiting for the perfect time is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to attain your goal. This is a simple case of procrastination which is the nemesis of progress and productivity. Analyze and face the underlying reason for your procrastination in order to solve it. Perhaps, it is your fear of failure or of wandering away from your comfort zone. Whatever is the reason, knowing it is halfway to resolving it. Pretending it does not exist could only delay further or abandon altogether your chance to succeed.
- “People might ridicule me if I fail”: The more will people deride and mock you if they see you fail due to your laziness or unfounded fear to act. Refuse to be a slave of others’ opinions and expectations of you. Stop deluding yourself that others are thinking of you that much. Chances are, nobody really cares how you run your life so why should care about them and sacrifice your own welfare?
“I do not have the money to succeed” Money, like time, is never enough. Having sufficient money is not guarantee that you would persevere. Just think: why should you work hard if you already have the money that motivates you. This means less incentive for you to carry on pursuing success. When you lack the resources is the time for you to formulate a financial game plan to work within your tight budget. In fact, this is a great opportunity for you to master the skill of finance management which is vital in running any business.
- “Success is for special people only”: If you take the time to study the lives and experiences of the people whom you consider “special”, you would be surprised to notice that there is nothing really special about them. Perhaps, you might even find that you or most of the ordinary people you know are more gifted than the people you consider “successful” in terms of educational attainment, physical or mental health, family upbringing, or environment they grew up in. In fact, these very inadequacies are what propelled the successful ones to strive further and surpass those who have more in life.
- “I prefer a simplier life”: Do you, really? Although there are few who actually settle for sedate and uncomplicated living, especially those have found personal fulfilment in their lives, most people only use this alibi to cover up their fear of failure. They are trying to camouflage their feeling of inadequacy or justify their laziness. They are just sour grapes who abandon what they could not hope to achieve. This is a big mistake they are making because they are giving up the race even before they take the first step—a sure formula for losing out in life.
Remember that : “Dreams don’t work unless you do”. Start, therefore, to pursue your dreams instead of thinking of reasons to stop them.