Lately I’ve stumbled into several large, messy setbacks, and because of the circumstances I’ve felt completely justified in missing some deadlines and deciding to revisit some of my goals. I even spent a small amount of time wallowing in self-pity.
Then I read something that seemed to knock my setbacks right out of the ball park. It said “Make excuses, or make it happen.”
Granted there are times all of us need to cut ourselves some slack, forgive ourselves for our imperfections and then move on. On the other hand, it’s really easy sometimes to use unexpected challenges as our reason for giving up or altering priorities, rather than regrouping and moving forward from a different direction.
As I was thinking about how easy it is to fall back on excuses, I read about race car driver Robert Wickens, who became partially paralyzed after a terrible crash in 2018, and through his tenacity and determination, is now planning to race again in a car equipped with hand controls.
Let me be clear, my challenges were nothing compared to Wickens, but often when something happens, regardless of the size of the problem, we can feel the obstacle insurmountable. Instead, why not simply think of a setback as a setup for a comeback, an opportunity to learn, grow and move on. Next time you feel like quitting, think of all the amazing people who have come before you and found a way around the challenge.
All of us can make excuses—legitimate ones—or we can make it happen. The nice thing is we get to choose.
