I do not believe in excuses. I believe in hard work as the prime solvent of life’s problems. -James Cash Penney (1875-1971), entrepreneur and businessman who founded J.C. Penney store in 1902.
One thing that I have learned as a real estate agent coach is that people will say the craziest things to rationalize why something does not get done! You know what I mean because we all do it…it started a long time ago…”the dog ate my homework!” Sound familiar? As a matter of fact we only seem to get better at it as time goes on…no really….think about it…”I can’t come to work today because a plane crashed in my back yard and I was up all night saving lives!”
But seriously, let’s stop and think about how much energy we put into rationalizing why we avoid doing so many things that really matter to us…I mean things that will determine whether we survive or thrive! Ever got caught by the boss not staying on task because you allowed some personal distraction into the day…texting…facebook…office chit chat? When you really sit back and think about it, that’s stealing! When somebody is paying you to do a job by the hour then they should have the right to expect a return on their dollar…no? Yet when you turn in a half way effort and then get passed over for a promotion do you start to rationalize that it’s because the boss doesn’t like you, doesn’t appreciate you, has a gender or racial bias?
Who are you really kidding or bluffing when you throw up a smoke screen? Rationalization is really the offensive weapon of denial. When you truly don’t want to face reality and hold yourself accountable, then it just seems easier to deflect. Yet the reality is that you’re just creating a ‘lumpy rug’ in your own temple…how long can you continue to sweep things under the rug and not confront them before they begin to cause real problems?
