Excuses

Excuses are the tools of the incompetent, which build monuments of nothingness. And those who dwell upon them seldom amount to anything more.

...or something like that. My high school English teacher used to say this almost daily, and for some reason, a friend of mine dropped this quote in conversation last week...and it's recently been reinforced in other ways, as well.

I've just come to the realization that people who use excuses weren't going to do whatever activity they are excusing themselves from anyway - they just needed a way to rationalize their lack of intent. I'm from the school of "Get it done, by any means necessary," and it has everything to do with the way I've been raised. I could get 5 A's and two B's, and no matter how I tried to explain the B's, moms and pops didn't understand anything less than perfection. If you have ever had a conversation with my mom, you know what I'm talking about. She's about taking care of business, and when she has something she wants to accomplish, if one person says No, she keeps going until she gets a Yes. It's only logical that I've come to internalize such standards.

This is not to say I've never made excuses - not at all. I just noticed that ppl who hand you excuses really only do so to make themselves feel better...the rest of us still see it as BS, in case you didn't know.

For example, ppl who say, "Oh no, I can't go to that church, they be in there all day, they stay too late for me." OK, but I see your FB photos all in the club every week...and you know, it's pretty late when you go TO the club; much more so when you leave. But I guess...

OR how about: "I don't like the way they talk to me when I go there." If that's the case, then don't go to work, don't go to college and don't even go to McDonald's - because bosses, professors, fast food ppl and anyone with an iota of authority will exercise their option to talk crazy at will. But only in the case of church (for example) is this a strong enuf deterrent, right? OK....

OR: "They talk about me." How do you know? You don't go anyway. Did you know perfect strangers talk about you at the mall, on the street, in the parking lot at work and anywhere else? If being talked about is such a concern, you should never leave your house, lol.

Bottom line is, you just weren't going to do it anyway. You don't have to make excuses. We all have things we just don't want to do...you don't owe anyone an explanation, but if you decide to give one, just remember, "Excuses are the tools of the incompetent."

(AND NO, for all my hypersensitive readers, this isn't directed at any particular person. It's only directed at whomever it applies to...as with all things.)