When you spout off to a coworker, a friend, a spouse, or a family member, what do you typically do next? Do you ignore your outburst? Do you pretend it didn’t happen? Do you spend the rest of the day trying to talk yourself into the rationalization that you were in the right? Or do you apologize immediately—or eventually?
People who are successful and content with their lives are often those who are quick to remedy their mistakes. It is not a sign of weakness to go back and apologize for something you said. It is a sign of self-awareness and a sign of respect to those around you.
Your assignment today is to be quick to make amends. Own up to your mistakes. If you said something mean to a coworker, go immediately back to their desk and apologize for it. It doesn’t really matter if you spoke the truth and your sin was a cruel choice of words. If you hurt someone, make it right, and don’t delay. This is not a one-day assignment. Work this pattern into your everyday life by practicing your ability to have some humility and admit to your wrongs. You will make bad word choices from time to time. A successful person finds a way to use the backspace key.
DAY
302
“Gather up all your excuses, carry them outside, and bury them deep in the ground. When you’re bored of success dig ‘em back up.”
— Seth Simonds
Excuses suck the life out of success. They are absolutely useless on your journey to follow your dreams. In fact, they are major roadblocks. Excuses send you on a detour away from your true destiny, and the crazy thing is you can’t blame anyone but yourself for them. You can’t shake your fist at some unseen construction worker. You put the big detour sign right in the middle of the road all by yourself when you pulled out an excuse instead of taking action.
The quote above provides a beautiful image. Take all of your excuses and bury them outside. Get rid of them. There is absolutely no reason you will ever need them again. If you decide at some point that you’re bored on the road to success, you are more than welcome to dig up an excuse or two, and you’ll be back on that detour route. However, if you really mean it when you say you want to achieve your dreams, you must be willing to give up excuses for the long haul.
How often do you replace action with excuses? Pull out your journal and write about that for a half hour or so. Can you think of instances within the last week when you pulled out an excuse instead of taking care of business? Did you decide it was too cold outside to go for that walk? Did you blame traffic for arriving late to work? How many excuses did you utilize in the last seven days? Try to come up with a comprehensive list. Then make a plan to reduce the number of excuses you utilize in the week to come.
DAY
303
“If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.”
— Woody Allen
Failure has been a topic to ponder in previous months, and now you have a chance to look at it again as it relates to your success. Today you will take a little time to solidify some of your new views on how success and failure depend on each other.
Failure is not optional if you want to achieve success. It is an important ingredient of achievement. As Woody Allen states in the quote above, if you don’t fail, then maybe you’re not doing anything very interesting or innovative. If you want to break new ground, you must be willing to fail. Go toward failure fearlessly. It’s actually desirable to fail every once in awhile. Unlike excuses, failure is not a detour. It is like getting a special jet pack to propel you toward your dreams at a faster rate.
Why is failure an important aspect of success? Write your answer to that question today in your journal. You may come up with a number of different responses. If you’re not convinced failure is an integral part of achieving success, then write about your doubts.
It is a tricky thing to learn. The opposite words play with your mind. You think you want one but not the other. But failure will point you in the right direction to achieve success. When you find out what doesn’t work, you’ve narrowed down the scope of possible solutions. You also find energy in the pursuit of your dreams, and failure is a kind of fuel that drives you toward your ultimate goal. A thousand failures will lead you to ultimate success. Can you say the same about excuses?
DAY
304
“Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.”
— Robert Schuller
There are three types of people in this world: problem seekers, problem solvers, and problem see-ya-laters. Which one are you?
A problem seeker is someone who likes drama. They thrive in chaos and seem to attract plenty of it. You know who you are. You think life is boring if it’s in balance. You point out the difficulties in your life in order to define who you are and why you have not yet achieved your dreams.
A problem solver is a person who enjoys balance and finds excitement in making the puzzle pieces fit together. They are happiest when providing the answers, not creating more questions. It drives a problem solver crazy to leave things open-ended. The problem solver sounds like the star pupil, but sometimes they are afraid to venture into new territory. They try to be content with the puzzle they’ve completed.
The problem see-ya-later personality is probably one we’ve all visited at some point in time. This person simply hides from problems. If you ignore it, maybe someone else will take care of it . . . or it will go away. Is that a problem over there? See ya later!
Think about these three types of people and then examine how you deal with problems in your life. Are problems guidelines for future action? Or do you look at a problem and see a stop sign? Do you attack problems, attract problems, or run for cover whenever you see one coming at you?
DAY
305
“Fault finding is like window washing. All the dirt seems to be on the other side.”
— Unknown
Fault finding is another sure way to ruin success. If you find fault in others, you give away your power. If all the grime is on the other side of the window, you have to wait for someone over on that side to clean it up before you get a clear view. Do you really have the time or the desire to sit there looking at dirt until someone else takes action?
Let’s be honest for a moment. There is something about human nature that makes us feel momentarily very good when we shift the blame to someone else. Your tax guy screwed up the accounting numbers, and that’s why you’re being audited. It’s not your fault! Whew. Nevertheless, you’re still going to owe the government a huge fee when it all gets straightened out.
If a big rock sits in the middle of your road to success, it really doesn’t matter who put it there. You’re not going to get to your ultimate goal until you move it. Stop worrying about where to put the blame, and start working on a solution. That is how you achieve success.
Have you ever taken responsibility for something that wasn’t your fault? If you haven’t, give it a try. It’s a strangely powerful feeling. Taking the high road and working on a solution feels ten times better than shifting the blame to someone else. Your assignment is to reduce the number of times you find fault in others and increase the occasions when you take responsibility and take action.