“Excuscitis”

Ummmmmm, what in the world is excuscitis?  Excuscitis is a phrase that was coined in the book “The Magic of Thinking Big” by Dr. David J. Schwartz.  Most humans have suffered from this at some point in their lives, a good chunk of us on a daily basis in many facets of our lives.  This ailment of the mind is paralyzing.  It keeps you from living a purposeful life, it keeps you from accomplishing your goals.  You can no longer ignore it, it is time to face it head on.

What is Excuscitis? Simply put it is the creation of excuses on why something cannot be done.  I think a quote from Henry Ford states it best “Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right”.  Common excuses are, “I am too old, I am too young, I am not smart enough, I don’t know how, I don’t know the right people, I am not fit enough, I have such and such disease, I am fat, I don’t have money and I don’t have time”.  There are many more but those are all common excuses I have heard and have used myself.

Why is it that we automatically think of 100+ excuses why we can’t rather than looking at the 1 reason why we can? We are our own worst enemy.  You can do what you will to do.  Only you and your excuses are stopping you and you can turn that right around by creating reasons why you can.

Have you ever encountered a “Yeah, but” person? I bet you have, I bet you even have said that phrase a time or two yourself, I know I have.  They have every excuse on why it will not work, why it could not happen.  I believe the cure for excuscitis, which is caused by fear, is taking action.  Another phrase coined in “The Magic of Thinking Big” is “Action Cures Fear” ( see my post “Action Cures Fear” ).

Give me an excuse and I can show you a person who has overcome that excuse, a person who decided to say “CAN” instead of “can’t.  A good example of this would be Matthew Jones, a cancer survivor who ran seven marathons on seven continents.  He said “CAN”.  JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, she was broke living off of state benefits and is now a multi-millionaire.  She said “CAN”. How about good Ole Colonel Sanders? His famous 11 herbs and spices recipe was turned down 300 times before someone gave him a chance.  The list literally goes on and on.  These people and many more like them said “CAN”.  They had every excuse to quit, to not even try but they persevered and there is no reason in the world why you can’t also persevere.

If you have a hard time breaking through that “can’t” barrier try asking yourself this question, “If I didn’t believe it was impossible, what would I do?”  A very powerful question to ask.  So time to answer that.  Let’s say you want more money, a 6 figure income but you can’t seem to get past that “CAN/CAN’T” battle in your mind, well if you could what would you be doing? Great answers to that question would be,”I would study successful people, I would research good business’s to be in, I would study those business’s, I would surround myself with wealthy successful people, I would ask those people questions on how they have succeeded, I would buy books on successful living, I would dress successful, I would take great care of my body as I would want to enjoy my wealthy life for as long as I can”……….the list goes on and on.  Most of these things are “FREE!!!”, so not having enough money is no excuse.  We all have 24 hours in a day, the CEO of the company and the person on the corner asking for a dollar.  So “time” is not an excuse.  We all have the power to do what we will in this life, you just have to get past the fear of losing or failing.  Just try, just ask, just do!!!

Remember “Whether you say you can or can’t, you’re right”, say CAN!

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Carol Hays – Creator of The Happy Dance Experiment