“Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you, never excuse yourself.”

 Henry Ward Beeche

There is a pandemic out there.  You should be very afraid of it.  It’s infectious and contagious.  It spreads quickly, and the infected are ensconced throughout the globe.  Excuses are everywhere.  They are pervasive.  Even society’s leaders have succumbed to their contagion.

You can rise to the top, almost instantly, wherever you are, in whatever organization you find yourself a part, by simply not allowing yourself to excuse yourself.  There are reasons for one’s lack of performance, and those reasons should be discovered and corrected.  However, there is NEVER an excuse for second-rate performance.

I’m brutal with myself.  No butt chewing from any Marine Gunny ever came close to the level of correction I give myself.  I hold myself to a higher standard than anybody else expects of me, and in doing so, I rise above the cesspool of non-performance out there.

Today, take notice of how those around you deflect personal responsibility for their actions and behaviors.  Take notice of yourself and ask yourself, “Am I excusing my own substandard performance?”  If so, why? Is it just out habit? Or is it that we cannot face ourselves objectively, and own our results? Why do excuses pour from our lips?  Is it easier to blame others, blame the economy, blame society, blame our parents, or blame the weather? Of course it’s easier, but that is a downhill run to mediocrity and worse.

Make today the day you stop blaming the dog for eating your homework.  If you forget to do your homework, ask yourself why? If you didn’t do it because you were lazy or chose something more enjoyable, then put on your “Big Girl Pants” or your “Big Boy Pants” (as my wife says), and own your choices.  Own your feelings. Own your thoughts. Own your behavior. Own your character. Own your work ethic. Own your results. Own your life. Own yourself.

Any excuse is worse than no excuse.

Boo yah!