This past summer I was glued to the TV, watching the 2008 Olympics.
When Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte won a Bronze medal in the Men’s 400-meter Individual Medley, no one knew that he did so while fighting a wicked stomach virus.
When he was interviewed after the race, he never said a word about being sick. He didn’t apologize for the swim and he didn’t make any excuses for it. It was what it was, and he came in 3rd place.
Several months ago an actor contacted me about coaching together. We set up an introductory session and when the day came for us to speak, he never showed up for the call. I tried calling him three times, to no avail.
The next day he sent me an email, with a long explanation (i.e. a bunch of excuses) as to why he missed the call, and begged me for another opportunity to speak with me. I sent him an email back with a few consultation time slots to choose from and I have yet to hear back from him.
The other day I was on a call with a woman who is a talented performer in her own right. When we started talking about missed audition opportunities that had recently come her way, she, too, had a bunch of excuses as to why she wasn’t pursuing her career.
You see, that’s exactly what these two actors offered me: Excuses. And, the problem with excuses is that the only person they affect is the person making them.
One of the last Olympic events I watched was the Women’s 10-meter Platform Diving, where I was rooting for Laura Wilkinson, the Olympic Gold Medalist in the 2000 games. After 3 rounds of dives in the Semi-Finals, Laura was in 14th place, with 2 rounds of diving remaining (the first 12 places would qualify to dive in the finals). Her coach said that she had a tricep injury that kept her from performing at her best.
Once the semi-finals were over, Laura (who was in 6th place) was interviewed on TV and asked if the tricep injury affected her performance the way her coach said it did. Her answer was “No.” She went on to say that her 6th place finish wasn’t about her injury – it was about what was going on in her head, implying a lack of confidence that she was dealing with at that moment in time.
That’s being honest. She could have used her injury as an excuse, but she didn’t. She spoke the truth and the next day, she got back on that 10-meter platform and did her best. And even though she didn’t win another Olympic medal, she performed to the best of her ability at that moment in time, with her integrity in place.
So what about you? Are living in integrity? Or, are you too busy making up excuses to realize that the only person you’re hurting is yourself?
The good news is that at this very moment you can choose to change.
To Your Success,
Sharon
Sharon Moist
The Industry Coach®
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Website: The Industry Coach
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