5 Best Excuses you should Avoid Making

best excuses

I am sure that at some point in our adult lives, most of us have encountered situations where we were unable to deliver on a set goal, or come through on a task assigned to us, whether at work, in business, with friends or family members. To justify this lapse, we tend to make excuses. These excuses could very well be legit, but because the bottomline – task wasn’t performed – remains unchanged, are not often palatable. The truth is that, regardless of how true or relevant the reasons why “the job didn’t get done” may be, some of these excuses are better left “un-uttered” – either to save face and appear reasonable, or simply out of respect for others.

Here are a few:

1. I overslept

Have you ever arrived late to work and missed an important meeting; or arrived late for an appointment that had been set up way in advance because your alarm clock failed to go off? True it happened, but I can only imagine that most adults would find this excuse particularly difficult to make … with a straight face.

2. My babysitter was late

Hmmm, who cares? That’s really between you and her. Most bosses get very offended by this excuse, you may as well hire a reliable babysitter. This excuse somewhat reflects back on you and questions your decision making abilities, “Do you have the tendency to make poor choices?” The truth is that when it comes to work, bosses and business associates do not care about personal issues. They would like to be left out of affairs that have nothing to do with the office and the task at hand. You’ve got to do whatever it takes.

3. It will be difficult

It will be what?! More than anything, uttering these words gives the impression that you are not the person for the job. Everything is difficult – think about it, you wake up everyday and make yourself go through a work or business routine that often requires effort, sacrifices of sleep, time with family, recreation time and in most cases, time doing the things you really like to do.  So why is this that ‘difficult’? Challenging? Yes. The person for the task understands that success requires self-confidence, faith, determination, diligence and research. They understand that : “If it has to be done, it is up to me”. If you have doubts, it is always important to keep them to yourself … or better still get rid of them by shooting for the stars.

4. I had a headache

“Are you kidding me,” murmurs the person sitting across from you. Short of being rushed to the emergency room, “feeling unwell” is not always enough to get you a pass, especially if you didn’t call in well in advance.

5. I had to take my kids to the game

Everyone has kids, everyone’s kids have activities they engage in, raising a family is challenging for everyone at different levels. This excuse is somewhat disrespectful to your colleagues or counterparts who have to make family sacrifices as well.

At the end of the day, it is all about being reliable, and dependable … and most importantly giving your best always. Don’t make excuses, get the job done.

Did I leave any common excuses you think we should avoid? Leave a comment.

Lema Abeng’s webiste is www.lemaabeng.com; Twitter: @LemaAbeng

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