Why Giving Excuses Is Detrimental

Excuses may seem like rational reasons for us not to do something, but if we’re not careful we can, in fact, allow them to keep us from reaching our goals. Instead of focusing on how to achieve what we want, we find reasons as to why it is so difficult. As my abuela would say, “quien no tiene ganas, tiene excusas.”

Sometimes we may give others excuses rather than be fully honest. Particularly before the pandemic, we would often give excuses to not go out because we’d much rather be in our pajamas and watch Netflix, right? Why is this bad? It’s just a white lie, no one gets hurt…actually, you do get hurt. Because this diverts your energy into keeping the truth at a distance while continuing to live under a false pretense – and that’s not good energy to surround yourself with.

There’s another way in which excuses rob us of our energy — and that is in the power of our thoughts and words. If we find ourselves in a situation, for example, where we are being asked for a financial contribution but we use the excuse that we can’t afford it, we create and attract limitation into our lives. The same goes for seemingly simple things like pretending to not feel well or any other false statement. We may think that excuses are an easy escape, but that might get you into a mousetrap that ends in disaster.

I want you to think for a moment; when was the last time you gave an excuse not to do something? Did it improve things, make you feel better, or worse? Could you have expressed your true feelings instead, and why did you choose not to? These are important questions to ask yourself from time to time.

Because when we commit to our priorities, take responsibility for our choices, and communicate them honestly to others, there will be no need to make excuses, and we will have much more energy to dedicate to all the things we love.