HABIT OF MAKING EXCUSES HAS SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES

 

It is normally observed that despite being capable enough many people fail to achieve even normal successes in their lives due to their habit of making excuses, mostly lame excuses. Wise people say that this is one of the most common habits found in a person facing regular failures. These people always have one excuse or the other for not doing the assigned task or keeping it incomplete or not fulfilling the promise whether it is in the workplace or at home. The most common excuses are like sudden indisposition, unfavourable circumstances, inadequate logistic support, road accident, traffic jam or something like that. Generally, the parents or teachers or superiors advise or scold or punish them and let them go with the warning that they should desist from making such excuses in future to cover up their failures or wrong doings. Is the habit of making excuses normal and it should be dealt with softly? Not at all. Rather it is a serious matter which not only affects the person concerned but also the persons around them and the society they live in. Let us discuss the five major consequences of this habit.

1. Lie Dependence: Making excuses clearly means trying to hide the truth by telling a lie. And to hide one lie, they tell another lie and finally get trapped in the lie web sooner or later. Notwithstanding, some people indulge in such activity to prove himself right, mostly temporarily. In fact, instead of accepting the reality and facing smaller inconveniences or discomforts or punishments, by default they set in the painful process to face severe consequences afterwards. 

2. Avoid making right efforts: Making excuses and that too lame and silly excuses clearly indicate that you are shying away from making the right efforts which you are otherwise capable of. You continue to do this despite knowing well that without taking requisite efforts you can’t achieve the expected results. James Penny rightly says that I don’t believe in making excuses. I know that only by taking the sincerest efforts, I can find the suitable solution for any problem in my life.

3. Low self-confidence: This habit proves fatal as you slowly keep on pending even important and urgent tasks. To say, if you make excuses for not completing the task, you continue to pile up the backlog which gets heavier with every passing day. Once this negative trend sets in, naturally you find the backlog quite impossible to finish by any means. Now in anticipation or fear of getting caught by the supervisor or parents, you feel stressed and your confidence too goes down significantly. Quality of work deteriorates and fear factor takes its toll. Just think, if you are low in confidence, how can you finish any task - big or small successfully and on time? Benjamin Franklin says that he who is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.

4. Crisis of credibility: One big negative effect of making excuses is the crisis of credibility. It takes years to be credible, but it shatters within no time due to your habit of making excuses followed by constant lying. Doing anything wrong or committing a mistake knowingly or unknowingly is not a big crime, if you accept it openly at the first instance. Normally your boss-teacher-senior-parents forgive you with a warning that you should be very particular in not repeating the same mistake and be sincere towards your work. But it can’t be the case with those who make excuses to present himself clean and continue to commit blunders repeatedly. They seldom get a relief and are normally blacklisted. Truly speaking, nobody believes such people and hence they rarely get any chance to shoulder any important responsibility.

5. Indulgence in wrongdoing: Those who suffer from this habit, their life can never be simple and transparent. This affects their mindset and overall health very badly. Yes, they find and get the company of their taste and liking. And then they forget about living a simple, honest and transparent life. Actually, they start enjoying life in the bad company. If you look at the lifestyle of first-time criminals, you will find one common trait and that is making excuses. Yes, few people return to the right path due to good counselling and the lesson they learnt after committing the crime for the first time. These people naturally repent and face the punishment and finally enjoy life as a responsible citizen. 

As always, I'm keen to know what you think on this subject. Hence, I request you to post your comments to share your valuable opinion.   (hellomilansinha@gmail.com)     

# Published in my Sunday Column of "Morning India" daily.

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