Reverse the Excuse

on Jan 21, 2010

It’s all too easy to find an excuse to not do something productive. I suggest reversing the excuse so that you make an excuse to do the productive thing. Even better if you can use the same excuse:

Original excuse:
“My muscles are sore today – I’ll skip my training session today”

Reversed excuse:
“My muscles are sore today – I should go to my training session to loosen them up”

You can also reverse the excuse when approaching new endeavors and trying new things:

Instead of letting an excuse hold you back:
I can’t do _____ because

  • I’m not strong enough
  • I’m not flexible enough
  • I’m not experienced enough

Use the excuse as a reason to go for it:
I should do _____ because

  • It will make me stronger
  • It will make me more flexible
  • It will give me experience

What reverse excuses do you use?