One of my favorite things to do is listen to people’s excuses. Anything from the typical, “My dog ate my homework” to “My grandmother is very sick and could die at any minute, I may not be back for a couple weeks.”
I mean there are all sorts of the things that we use for excuses and trust me, I am very guilty of this. There are all sorts of good excuses for every occasion. Did you know that there are websites where you can go to find “good excuses?” It is unreal how cowardly we are that we simply cannot tell the truth.
What is an excuse? It is a story that we conjure up to explain something we did not do or feel that we are unable to do. It is a lie. That’s the bottom line. Now I do understand that things arise that may cause you to use one of these excuses. When is a boss or a teacher supposed to differentiate between one of these legitimate excuses and one of these phony excuses used to get out of something? I know of a time that my friend’s homework literally got torn to shreds by his cat. Note to self, do not leave your uneaten lunch in your backpack near your homework. He taped his homework and brought it in and used the excuse that his homework was malled by his cat. Now, crazy things like that do happen, but how is someone in a position of authority over us supposed to distinguish what is truth and what is lies.
We need to stop using excuses. Suck it up. If you fall short of the mark, admit it! Do not make some excuse because in reality, you were too lazy or had poor time management. There are not many true occasions we need excuses. What do you think your boss would do if you said, “I am sorry I did not meet the deadline, I did not budget my time properly” or “Sorry I am late, I slept through my alarm. I will try to make sure it does not happen again.” Telling the truth would most likely send your boss to the floor in sheer shock. Honestly, chances are he or she will be more lenient with you too. I am not saying this is always the case, but often times it is.
So next time you feel like telling someone that your dog at your homework, think about it. Try telling the truth. There is never an excuse for using an excuse.