Excuses: Is it worth it??

Anyone that knows me knows that I have a pet-peeve list that could wrap around the world-- twice. My number one pet-peeve always seems to change. Family and friends often give me looks when I say “that is my number one pet-peeve”. Really my list probably shouldn’t be a list at all, it should just be everything that drives me crazy is number one. I used to let these little “pet-peeves” drive me crazy, but as I’ve gotten older I’m learning how to deal with them better. Unfortunately, this post is going to be a bit of a rant on a BIG pet-peeve of mine: excuses.


I’ve never been a fan of using excuses in any aspect of my life. Honestly, I never really saw the point. I’ve always figured I’ll either do or I wont, but I’m not going to make an excuse either way. I find that people come up with excuses for all areas of their life. People give excuses for not working out, excuses for binging on alcohol, excuses for skipping mass on Sunday, excuses for eating poorly, excuses, excuses, excuses, and more excuses. I JUST DON’T GET IT! What good are excuses anyway? They really don’t do anyone any good. The person making up the excuse is no better because of it, and the person they are telling the excuse to (even if it’s themselves) is no better off.


I know it comes like second nature to so many people, but have you ever stopped to think what your life might be like if you didn’t make an excuse for so many things? I’m going to take a BIG leap (haha) and guess that your life will only be better without the excuses. The next time you think about “getting out” of something with a lame excuse, stop yourself and really think if it’s worth it. Those little excuses that we tell ourselves each day are some of the worst offenders.


Start stepping up instead of making excuse after excuse. You could always take my crazy approach and go above and beyond when you feel like making an excuse. Often times while I’m exercising if I tell myself I can only do 5 more minutes, I’ll go 10 more minutes just to show myself. (weird, I know!)


So how does all of this tie in with God and religion? In the end isn’t an excuse just a lie? And weren’t we all taught that a lie is a sin? It’s time to cut those out of your life. Do you think Jesus made any excuses while he was on earth? In fact, he begged God to take the pain from him if it was possible, and then he still carried his cross, was nailed to it, and died for all of us and our sins.


We are all called to live as Jesus lived. It is impossible to be as perfect as he was, but it is possible to take little steps on that path. Excuses are just sin hurdles that we all need to jump over. Why not just remove the hurdle?


　
Don’t forget to count your blessings--especially the small ones!! J