Let’s talk about your excuses. They are clever, convincing, and oh-so-comfortable. They’re the sweet-sounding lies we whisper to ourselves that keep us safe in our comfort zones. “I don’t have time.” “I’m too tired.” “I’ll start on Monday.” “I’m just not a motivated person.”
They feel like valid reasons, but let’s get brutally honest: excuses are the locks on the door between you and the life you claim you want. They are the carefully constructed cages that keep your potential from ever taking flight.
But what if you held the keys?
The difference between the person you are and the person you want to be is simply the action you take. It’s time to stop being the victim of your own well-reasoned justifications and start being the CEO of your own life. It’s time to trade your reasons for results.
If you’re ready to get out of your own way, here’s your no-nonsense guide to stop making excuses and start taking action.
1. Identify Your “Favorite” Excuse
The first step is radical awareness. You have a go-to excuse, a greatest hit that you use on repeat. It feels so true that you don’t even question it anymore.
The Action Payoff: You cannot fight an enemy you cannot see. By identifying and naming your favorite excuse, you strip it of its power. It stops being an undeniable fact and becomes what it truly is: a thought pattern that you can choose to change.
Actionable Step: For the next 24 hours, just be a detective. What is the one excuse you use more than any other? Write it down. Look at it. See it for what it is.
2. Shrink the Action Until It’s “Un-Excuse-able”
Your brain is a master at making excuses to avoid big, intimidating tasks. So, you have to trick it. Shrink the first step of any goal down until it is so laughably small that it would be more effort to make an excuse than to just do it.
The Action Payoff: This is the ultimate cure for the “I don’t have time/energy” excuse. It completely bypasses your brain’s resistance to starting, and action is the thing that creates momentum.
Actionable Step: Want to start working out? Your goal isn’t to go to the gym for an hour. Your goal is to put on your workout clothes. Want to write a book? Your goal is to open a document and write one sentence. Start there.
3. Focus on the System, Not the Goal
A huge, distant goal can be paralyzing. An excuse-maker focuses on the finish line. An action-taker focuses on the first step of the system that will get them there.
The Action Payoff: You can’t control the outcome, but you can 100% control whether you follow your system for the day. This shifts your focus from a source of potential failure (the big goal) to a source of daily wins (the small action), which builds confidence.
Actionable Step: Reframe your goal. The goal is not “to be a runner.” The system is “to put on my shoes and go outside for a 10-minute walk three times this week.” Focus only on the system.
4. Create Real Stakes (and “Burn the Boats”)
Excuses thrive in a low-stakes environment. If there are no real consequences for inaction, inaction will almost always win. You need to create a situation where backing down is no longer an option.
The Action Payoff: When the pain of not doing something becomes greater than the pain of doing it, you will do it. Creating real stakes—social or financial—is a powerful way to force yourself to follow through.
Actionable Step: Choose one: Tell people your goal. Post it on social media. The fear of public failure can be a powerful motivator. Or, get an accountability partner and agree to pay them $20 every time you skip your commitment.
5. Stop “Researching” and Start Doing
“I just need to do a little more research.” This is one of the most sophisticated and seductive forms of procrastination. You feel like you’re being productive, but you’re not actually taking any action toward your goal.
The Action Payoff: You can’t steer a parked car. Real clarity and learning do not come from reading another article; they come from the messy, imperfect, and invaluable feedback of actually doing the thing.
Actionable Step: Give yourself a strict “research” deadline. You have one hour to research. After that, you must take the first, practical action step, no matter how unprepared you feel.
6. Schedule Your Action
Vague intentions like “I’ll try to do it this week” are a playground for excuses. An action that isn’t scheduled is just a wish.
The Action Payoff: An appointment on your calendar is a real commitment. It transforms your goal from an “if I have time” option to a “when I make time” priority.
Actionable Step: Take your one small, un-excuse-able action from Step 2. Now, open your calendar and schedule a specific 15-minute block for it tomorrow. Treat it like a doctor’s appointment.
7. Fact-Check Your Fear
Let’s be honest: 99% of your excuses are just fear in a clever disguise. Fear of failure. Fear of judgment. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of success.
The Action Payoff: When you name the underlying fear, it loses its power. It stops being a vague, looming monster and becomes a specific, manageable emotion that you can address.
Actionable Step: Look at your favorite excuse. Ask yourself, “What am I actually afraid of right now?” Say the answer out loud. Acknowledging the fear is the first step to moving through it.
8. Celebrate the Start, Not Just the Finish
We often wait until we’ve achieved the entire goal to feel good about it. But the hardest part is often just starting. You need to reward the act of taking action.
The Action Payoff: This creates a positive feedback loop in your brain. It rewires the association with your task from one of dread and resistance to one of action and reward, making you more likely to want to do it again.
Actionable Step: After you complete your tiny, two-minute action, give yourself an immediate, small reward. It could be a piece of chocolate, five minutes of guilt-free scrolling, or listening to your favorite song.
The life you want is on the other side of your excuses. It’s that simple, and it’s that hard. The only thing standing between you and your goals is the story you keep telling yourself about why you can’t achieve them.
It’s time to write a new story. Pick one of these strategies. Take one small, defiant action. And prove to yourself that you are more powerful than your excuses.