Don’t ever let excuses steal victory out of your hands. Let an excuse be slippery and slimy like an eel: hard to grasp and even harder to keep hold of. If you find an excuse leaping into your hand and trying to make itself comfortable there, grab it by the throat and throttle the life out of it. Whatever you do, don’t coddle it like a babe. It is a vile thing, and should be dropped. Instead of being attached to your problems, why not strive to nurture an attachment to your dreams? A human being only has so much energy; indeed, a rather limited amount. Where we invest our mental and emotional resources leads directly to returns on that investment. If you put money in bad stocks, you can expect bad dividends.
Excuses exhaust us, because as they build up we must become apologists for them, justifying their presence. This takes up energy we could be applying to more constructive ends. Excuses are little gremlins, hiding in every nook and cranny. We must bring them into the light so we can have good, clear look at them, and see how ugly they really are. Have you used any of these excuses at some point in your life?
“I’m afraid. It’s too hard and too risky. I’ll probably fail if I try, because I’m not smart enough and nothing good ever happens to me. Besides, I’ve already tried and wasn’t strong enough. I don’t have the time or the talent and will probably just botch it up. I always lose, and I worry what people will think of me if I fail. I’ve tried it a million times and it just won’t work.”
Watch inspiring motivational speaker Derek Clark share some of his favorite tips on never letting your weakness destroy your greatness.
With a little courage, you can always accomplish something unprecedented. Life can and will be overwhelming at times. I don’t know a single soul who has lived a productive and admirable life and said that it was easy. Life is full of surprises, and not all of them will be pleasant. Discomfort is always crouching, ready to pounce into your life and upset your pleasant little repose. But discomfort only becomes an enemy when we think of it as such. Think of discomfort as an ally. Discomfort forces you to act, make decisions, and strategize. Welcome it into your life as a friend who taps you on the shoulder and says, “Buddy, you are way too full of life to live the life of leisure.” A little stress and pressure force us to be creative and make moves.
Becoming a champion starts in the mind, with your own thoughts. A champion’s mentality begins with the belief that he or she can be better than the best, by being faster, smarter and stronger. They are determined, and already know they have the power within them to achieve their goal. They believe it, speak it, practice it, and live it. Of course they may lose the race, or not set the world record. But they don’t let these failures become permanent evaluations of themselves. Next time, they think, I’ll definitely do it next time.
We are all born with the potential to be a champion, but this potential is destroyed when we allow others to destroy our belief in ourselves. Remember to populate your mind with cheerleaders. Even when cheerleaders cheer for a team that loses, you see them on the sidelines at the next game, acting as if last week’s defeat never happened. Don’t be afraid to give yourself a good “Rah! Rah!”, even if last week you didn’t pull out a victory.
So never give up. Find the faith within to fuel your spirit. Believe in your vision. Believe in yourself and believe that you have a lot to offer. Use your life to put your stamp on the world. You are unique. Only you can offer the world that one thing it really needs. Thomas Edison tried over 10,000 times to invent the light bulb. Through perseverance and hard work, he did it. You may not be here to invent the light bulb, but trust me when I tell you that you have your own gift to offer this world. Believe it!
Written by Derek Clark
