Are You On A Detour Or Deadend?
This Week's Simple Tip
Have you noticed the numerous excuses we hear and see each day? Our personal and professional communication channels are filled with them! The English pioneer of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale, is quoted as saying, “I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an excuse.” She was referring to personal accountability; i.e. proactively seeking and accepting personal accountability in all areas of our lives.
No one is perfect. We all fail or disappoint from time to time. When it happens, you have two choices for how to respond. You can ask yourself, “What could I have done differently?” Or, you can tell yourself, “It wasn’t my fault. There was nothing I could have done.” The latter is the excuse choice. It is the option we have all taken at some point in time ... it makes you feel better. But when you habitually externalize failure by blaming it on something or someone else, it also makes you feel like the outcomes in your life are out of your control. When you lack control, you end up lacking motivation, figuring it isn't worth it if you are not in charge. And when you lack motivation, your performance suffers. This ripple effect from making excuses spirals into the future as well. The Florence Nightingale choice is an acceptance that you will never be perfect. Instead you will learn from events, opportunities and failures which lead you to achieve more of your goals and dreams because you proactively seek and accept responsibility and accountability.
This Week's Focus:
This week, assume personal accountability rather than making excuses. Trade in your need to be perfect for the lessons you learn from situations, opportunities and failures.
Click on the serenity sticky to print, cut and post on your bathroom mirror to remind you of this week's focus. Good luck!
