We are in a period of time where, for many years, there have been legitimate reasons for people to think their goals were unattainable. But that has been forever altered, and the excuses we once clung to have dissipated with myriad solutions and options available to us.
It does not matter what goal you have been striving to reach –financial success, weight loss, or something else – you have what you need now to get things done, as long as you are willing to do them.
If you think about it, this has always been true. The biggest obstacle to our success is us. Our mindset, our refusal to find the answers and consistently do the work is what holds us back.
But instead of accepting responsibility, we tend to blame it on something outside of our control, like a lack of money to pay for the right “fix.” It is easy to get mired down in a cycle of excitement and excuses, where one day we feel motivated and the next hopeless.
A Lack of Money Is not Standing in Your Way.
Money is often used as an excuse for people not to be able to do the things they feel will change their lives. People will complain that they cannot eat healthy because produce is too expensive or they cannot start an online business because they cannot afford to.
Neither of these things is true. It is simply a choice of what we allow ourselves to believe. If you are an online entrepreneur, you do not have to invest in expensive site-building tools, keyword research and SEO tools, and courses that break the bank.
You can start a business online for $0 and start pouring your profits back into the mix, but you have to be smart enough to choose a business model that allows for that, like affiliate marketing.
If you want to eat healthier, you can buy produce in season (and less expensive), on sale in bulk, or at a local farmer’s market at a cheaper price. You can even grow your product for next to nothing by investing in seeds.
If you feel money is holding you back, you have not tried to find a workaround because money is not an obstacle if you want to do something significant to make changes.
You can also take a look at the money you are wasting in life (Starbucks, streaming cable, etc.) and use that money if there’s something you want to afford to reach a goal – but that requires a sacrifice that makes people feel uncomfortable, so it is easier to use a blanket excuse as to why you can’t do it.
You Have the Time to Do Anything You Put Your Mind To
Time is another excuse people often mention when they feel like they are being held back. After a long day at work, you do not have time to shop for and prepare healthy food.
You do not have time to start a business online when you already work full-time offline, right? Yet that is exactly what millions of others in the same boat do.
So, you have to correct your wording to say, “I do not want to spend time doing that.” Because that is the truth, you can meal prep one day on the weekend to have nutritious food all week.
You can build your business little by little in your spare time after work and on the weekends. You do not have to be able to devote 8 hours a day to succeed as an online entrepreneur – you have to get started.
And once you evaluate how your hours and minutes are spent each day, you will realize there’s a lot of waste, too. Sometimes you could be learning and working, but you are not – you’re watching mindless TV, commuting with the radio on, or eating lunch while on social media.
Use your time strategically; you will do it if you have to wake up 30 minutes earlier to have half an hour each day to progress toward your goal. But only if you truly want it without letting excuses weigh you down.
There is Enough Free Info to Teach You Everything You Want to Know
Another excuse often used when people analyze why they have not been able to achieve their goals is a lack of knowledge. It is easy to say you do not know how to do something, but you cannot use that excuse anymore because the Internet has brought a world of information to your fingertips.
Online resources and offline meetups in your local area, libraries, and other sources can provide you with the information you need. However, if you have access to the Internet, you can learn about anything you hope to learn that will help you achieve your dreams.
For example, if you do not know how to lose weight, you can look up many strategies that will help you find something that works for your personal preferences and health needs.
If you need to know how to lose weight to improve your blood pressure, there are free sites with information about what foods to eat, what exercise you should do, and calorie calculators that can make things easy.
If you want to know how to start your website or blog and earn money from it, endless YouTube videos will teach you step-by-step so that you can follow along and act with the person teaching it.
There are even free tutorials for more advanced topics. But you must use your keyboard and Internet connection to search for your desired answers.
Even if you cannot find something readymade and outlined or answered for you, there are sites such as Quora or niche forums that you can sign up on and ask questions of the other members to find the answers you need to know.
Just befriending other people with the same interests and goals can help you significantly, and none of this costs you a single penny. But it is easier to shrug it off as a dilemma where you don't have answers so that you will remain stuck.
You Have the Ability to Try, Fail and Succeed
The truth is, just about everyone who has succeeded at the same goal you have in mind has failed more than once on their journey to success. Very few people start and take a direct path to the finish line.
Most people stumble when they are on a weight loss journey. They may have setbacks, such as a plateau, or they may lose weight, regain it, and have to do it all over again.
Some people start a business online and cannot seem to gain traction in building a list or getting their site ranked in Google. But instead of giving up and throwing their hands in the air in frustration, some people power through the failures until they achieve the success they are after.
Others will fail in their journey and never get back up because the sting of failure is too much for them. It does not matter that everyone else before them had the same obstacles – it is easier to be able to say they tried than to admit they do not want to try again.
Perseverance and Consistency Will Turn the Tides in Your Favor
There are only two things you need to overcome this struggle of using excuses: the ability to persevere through obstacles and consistency in your efforts. If you are armed with those two traits, nothing can stop you.
This is necessary in any aspect of life – your relationships, health, financial success – it is always needed everywhere. So, how do you adapt them to your life?
It is not going to happen overnight. You will feel uncomfortable when you use these two traits. But you will also quickly feel empowered and unstoppable – and when that kicks in, it will feel amazing.
Looking back on past failures and seeing where you fought back until you emerged victorious is a powerful feeling that lends to more success in the future. It will push you forward with momentum to do the things you always thought were unattainable.
If you try to tackle too much all at once, you’ll be setting yourself up for failure. If you’re trying to eat healthier, start with a healthy breakfast daily, and do not worry as much about lunch and dinner until you master breakfast.
Or you could start by ensuring you eat one fruit and one vegetable daily – small steps that get the ball rolling. The key is to progress with incremental change to do more until your life is transformed.
As an online entrepreneur, you could dedicate small increments of time to learning the ropes and taking action, such as devoting one hour per week (either all at once or broken up into 10-15 minute blocks) and then work on adding more time until you have the new career in place.
You Can Block Saboteurs and Surround Yourself with Mentors
One thing that will be hard for many people to do, but absolutely necessary – is to block the enablers (also known as saboteurs) who do not care if you succeed or fail or who secretly want you to.
They may not do it knowingly, but they can hold you back if they coddle you with your excuse mindset – or if they’re jealous and don’t want to feel bad about their lack of success in certain areas.
These will be the people who urge you to stop working on your business and do something with them instead or who tempt you to go off your diet this one time. These people are not good for your goals, and you must keep them at arm’s length until you are strong enough to push back.
Instead, surround yourself with other go-getters who feel unstoppable, can lift you up, and believe in you as you strive for great things to unfold in your life. You can find them online and in person, and they may not even be on the same path, but I love to see others shine.
Success is not unattainable for you. It’s not out of your reach or too complex. It’s there, ready and waiting – and as of today, there is no longer any viable excuse for you to embrace failure as your destiny.
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