Simplify: There's no more putting this one off

Shawn Tuttle

I do hereby proclaim February to be “No Excuse” month. “By what right?” you might ask. Well, none, really, but aren't you tired of hearing excuses?

 I do hereby proclaim February to be “No Excuse” month. “By what right?” you might ask. Well, none, really, but aren't you tired of hearing excuses?

 Often we use excuses as a storytelling mechanism. If there were no excuses, I wouldn't have heard that a TV fell on so-and-so's head. Or that so-and-so left his keys in the car at the gas station and someone drove off with the car (true stories, thankfully, not my head or car).

 All too often, however, the “story” is a litany of not-so-interesting reasons as to why I wasn't where I said I'd be when I said I'd be there, or why I didn't do what I said I'd do when I said I'd do it, and that's just straight up wasting your, and my, time.

 It's so sneaky that we don’t even realize when we've fallen into the excuse habit, just like we don't notice how often we say, “uh,” “um,” and “so.”

 In my Toastmasters speaking group, we “click” people with a little noise-maker whenever someone uses one of those fillers. As the person getting clicked, it's incredibly distracting and super informative.

 While I haven't cut all those little buggers from my speech, that technique has definitely helped me learn to hold my tongue before letting those nasties slip out.

 Say, maybe we could use this technique for catching excuses! I can see it now. We could use a clicker whenever someone launched into a boring or lame excuse.

 Carrying around clickers doesn't sound very plausible, so instead we could just give a friendly little poke, raise our eyebrows, smile and say, “The excuse monster strikes again!”

 Don't get me wrong. I'm certainly not free and clear in this department. I'll bet I inadvertently spit out excuses just as much as the next person, which is why I'm declaring February as No Excuse month to raise awareness of this blight upon our society.

 I think I'll make a badge that says, “Poke me if my excuse monster rears its ugly head.” Let me know if you want one, too.

 “But what about those oh-so-entertaining excuse stories?!” you might ask.

 Well here's the thing: I'd rather hear about your heart's hopes and dreams. I want to know what steps, no matter how small, you've made toward those goals. I'd rather hear about your confrontation with the nasty demon called inaction, about the stories of how you are holding your ground, and maybe even tasting the delicious sweetness of victory.

Shawn Tuttle is the founder of Project Simplify. She’s seeking stories for her book “The Natural Professional Handbook and can be reached by e-mailing shawn@ProjectSimplify.com.