“Your excuses are your conveniences.”

 There used to be times in the past when I felt I was not progressing. For many days I used to wonder what the reason for this would be. I started the habit of writing the daily tasks on a piece of paper, and before I retired for the day, I used to review what I had planned and what happened.

It was during these times that I realized that I had a habit of giving excuses. Moreover, the excuses were so strong, valid, and logical that I started believing it. At times it used to be traffic or delay in receipt of something, some other tasks came up that I did not plan, and so on. I also realized that this list was endless and I was getting better and better with it.

I started to listen to my excuses to understand where these excuses were originating. I realized after contemplating that it used to be because of some type of fear or lack of competence in that task area, which led to procrastination.

After a few days of introspection and understanding, I decided that I would not accept any excuses. When this happened, my mind went on an overdrive to generate different variants of excuses, which were getting stronger and better every time. However, my will to refuse to listen to and implement these excuses was strong. Slowly over time, I started to accept many things as they were happening and not find an excuse or complain about it. This helped me to come to terms with myself, my expectations, my capabilities, and the reality of life. This also made me a better time manager, focused and action-oriented.

Then the magic began, and there was a significant decline in the number of excuses. I could complete my task with a single-minded dedication and focus with hardly any excuses or interruptions.  This helped me to complete a lot of tasks that hitherto were pending.

This not only helped me to become a better professional but also helped me greatly to become a better version of myself.

Chetlur S Prasad

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