NoExcuses

MeatballWiki | RecentChanges | Random Page | Indices | Categories

: There are no excuses. There are only problems and solutions. -- SunirShah

Never make excuses. You can apologize for your failures, but don't make excuses. Things happen, or they don't happen. The only thing you should worry about is reducing the number of times bad things happen and increasing the number of times good things happen. No one at the receiving end of your behaviour cares that traffic was bad. Build in time to account for happenstances. Use your cellphone to call ahead. Similarly, no one cares if you were in a bad mood today. DampenEmotions.

Sure, sometimes there are events beyond your control. There could have been a car accident. You could have been really sick. Your mother might have called. But these are exceptional circumstances, not things that happen in daily life. If you reserve excuses for events truly beyond the reasonable planning of your routine, then people will respect you more and forgive you more readily.

If you screw up in the future, don't excuse yourself. Apologize sincerely. Work to ensure you don't have that problem again.

Conversely, don't accept excuses. That doesn't mean harp on them to bury the person; don't start on a polemic or a witch hunt, nor should you lecture. That means politely suggest they aren't appropriate, and drop that line of the conversation. People make excuses when they are afraid of the repurcussions. If you seek to AlleviateInsecurity, then you will avoid forcing people to dwell on their failures, but rather help them move towards success.

After I wrote AngryCloud, I figured I needed something hard-assed to balance myself out. ;) -- SunirShah

NoExcuses

Discussion