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Make Decisions Instead of Excuses
Because of the work I do around self-talk and stress management, I get to have a lot conversations with people about things they believe are ‘holding them back’ that, in reality, are just themselves getting in their own way. (By the way, we’ve all done this!)
For example, someone might talk about how their job is driving them crazy. They will tell you all about how their boss is useless, the equipment or software systems are out of date, or how they feel like half of their day is spent fixing mistakes made by their co-workers.
My first question is always the same, “So, what are you doing to change that?”
I’m sometimes astonished that the question catches people off guard. The habit of complaining is so inbred in our society that simply being asked to think about the fact that you actually have control over your situations can throw people for a loop!
Most people truly have never stopped to think about how they can do something about it.
More often that not, when that person does answer my question, the response further reveal this lack of self-awareness — they might say things like, ‘There’s probably nothing out there right now,’ ‘If I go somewhere else, I’ll start in a lower position, or ‘I’m lucky to have a job right now, it’s not that bad.’
