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01-22-2009, 05:20 AM
Putting An End To Excuses
by Steven D. Huff
The practice of making excuses has an ancient heritage. Excuse-making actually began as far back as the Garden of Eden. Here's a paraphrase of the story. God told Adam and Eve not to eat a certain fruit. The serpent tempted Eve and she ate it. Eve offered it to Adam and he ate. Later God said, "Adam did you eat that fruit?" Adam responded, "Lord, let me tell you about that woman. It's her fault." God said, "Eve, did you eat that fruit?" Eve replied, "Lord, let me tell you about that serpent. It's his fault." Of course, the serpent didn't have a leg to stand on.
The story offers a somewhat humorous illustration of a sad reality. Human beings are quite adept at making excuses for their behavior. In fact, excuses really abound in the business field. Just for fun, consider these excuses for why people couldn't come into work:
* "My parrot spoke for the first time. I had to wait for him to do it again so I could record it."
* "I lost my American Express card, and I can't leave home without it."
* "I got stuck in the blood pressure machine down at Wal-Mart."
* "When I got up this morning I took two Ex-Lax along with my Prozac. Now I can't leave the bathroom, but at least I feel good about it."
All joking aside, excusers have mastered the art of dodging responsibility. If you're tempted to make excuses, consider the words of Ben Franklin: "People who are good at making excuses are seldom good at anything else." George Washington Carver added, "Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have perfected the habit of making excuses." Here are three types of excuse-making that can hinder you:
* Outright Denial - When a problem arises some people practice outright denial. They refuse to admit any association, involvement or wrongdoing. "I had nothing to do with it."
* Blame Shifting - This form of refusing responsibility is simple. It usually includes: "It's not my fault" or "It is because of. . ." This excuse making tactic is traditionally known as scapegoating. Find someone else to blame. "It was my boss, an associate, a vendor, the delivery company. . ."
* Rationalization - This is the "I did it, but. . ." approach. With this one, excuse-makers appear to admit wrongdoing but quickly try to justify what happened with some excuse. "It is not really my fault, the sun was in my eyes, - or traffic was too heavy, - or your instructions weren't clear. . ."
Be a true professional. Take responsibility for your successes and your failures. When you make a mistake or do something wrong - admit it. Fix it if you can, learn from it, accept the consequences and move on. Winners always take responsibility.
Courtesy of www.GoForExcellence.com
by Steven D. Huff
The practice of making excuses has an ancient heritage. Excuse-making actually began as far back as the Garden of Eden. Here's a paraphrase of the story. God told Adam and Eve not to eat a certain fruit. The serpent tempted Eve and she ate it. Eve offered it to Adam and he ate. Later God said, "Adam did you eat that fruit?" Adam responded, "Lord, let me tell you about that woman. It's her fault." God said, "Eve, did you eat that fruit?" Eve replied, "Lord, let me tell you about that serpent. It's his fault." Of course, the serpent didn't have a leg to stand on.
The story offers a somewhat humorous illustration of a sad reality. Human beings are quite adept at making excuses for their behavior. In fact, excuses really abound in the business field. Just for fun, consider these excuses for why people couldn't come into work:
* "My parrot spoke for the first time. I had to wait for him to do it again so I could record it."
* "I lost my American Express card, and I can't leave home without it."
* "I got stuck in the blood pressure machine down at Wal-Mart."
* "When I got up this morning I took two Ex-Lax along with my Prozac. Now I can't leave the bathroom, but at least I feel good about it."
All joking aside, excusers have mastered the art of dodging responsibility. If you're tempted to make excuses, consider the words of Ben Franklin: "People who are good at making excuses are seldom good at anything else." George Washington Carver added, "Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have perfected the habit of making excuses." Here are three types of excuse-making that can hinder you:
* Outright Denial - When a problem arises some people practice outright denial. They refuse to admit any association, involvement or wrongdoing. "I had nothing to do with it."
* Blame Shifting - This form of refusing responsibility is simple. It usually includes: "It's not my fault" or "It is because of. . ." This excuse making tactic is traditionally known as scapegoating. Find someone else to blame. "It was my boss, an associate, a vendor, the delivery company. . ."
* Rationalization - This is the "I did it, but. . ." approach. With this one, excuse-makers appear to admit wrongdoing but quickly try to justify what happened with some excuse. "It is not really my fault, the sun was in my eyes, - or traffic was too heavy, - or your instructions weren't clear. . ."
Be a true professional. Take responsibility for your successes and your failures. When you make a mistake or do something wrong - admit it. Fix it if you can, learn from it, accept the consequences and move on. Winners always take responsibility.
Courtesy of www.GoForExcellence.com