Self-Care Unapologetic Series: Why Making Excuses Promotes Toxic Thinking

Dr. Pamela Gurley, D.M.
3 min readJul 22, 2020

Most adults (and young adults) have laid out plans for our goals, dreams, and ambitions. Because life can take many turns and life situations, not everyone is able to achieve these aspirations. Unfortunately, there are several reasons why this happens. One of such reasons is making excuses…almost every time they realize what they could have accomplished. These excuses can be for yourself or because you choose to blame others. Now, the difference between your present state or your goals and your future largely depends on the nature, number, and level of excuses you make. It’s that easy, the more you cook up those excuses, the bigger the difference. On the other hand, the fewer excuses you make and take, the more you bridge the difference.

In essence, there is no value in making excuses for your life and progress. Besides, when excuses become a routine it can be exhausting to your mental well-being. If you think about it, it is much easier to tell yourself the truth than making up excuses. Having established that making excuses is problematic, you should also know that excuses promote toxic thinking. How does this work?

For one, making excuses allows you to think unrealistically. You begin to stray away from the truth of what is happening around your life. Excuses distance you from your faults and inadequacies; it also normalizes them. Moreover, making excuses actually becomes a routine when you make it a thing. The more you pan out excuses, the easier it gets for you to make additional excuses. It’s quite simple; the more you do a thing, the better you get at it. The same way repeating excuses gives room for further multiplication, the Overcoming an excuse can help you overcome more, thereby helping your lifestyle.

Moreover, making excuses simply translates to the thinking that you’re saying no before you get started. When you decide to make an excuse before you set out to do something, you’ve already lost before you began. It means you’ve turned yourself down and given up on the situation. You do this not thinking of the possibility that you have a chance at being successful. When you think your idea is not worth it, you have already limited yourself to the good things you were supposed to achieve.

Making excuses is also toxic because it affects your productivity. Now, it is normal that you get tired and stressed out from time to time. However, it is important you know when to bounce back and get back to your routine. Making excuses for why you are stressed out during work hours will not help you. Why not look for ways on how to stay fresh for the next day. Are you going to bed late, or are you drowning yourself in caffeine, find answers and level up!

You can overcome making excuses regularly. Yes, it’s not easy but you can. One effective way to achieve this is, to be honest about how you feel in the midst of a situation. Tell yourself the reasons for your mistake, the core reason you’re avoiding that client and why you cannot be productive.

For more insightful tips on how to stop making excuses, visit here.

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Dr. Pamela Gurley, D.M.
Dr. Pamela Gurley, D.M.

Written by Dr. Pamela Gurley, D.M.

Business & Leadership Expert. The Un@pologetic Entrepreneur. Feat’d in Forbes, on Good Morning Washington & Fox5Atl. Connect on IG, FB, & Twitter: @iamdrpgurley

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