No excuses:  Any excuse for non-performance, however valid, softens one’s character.  It is a sedative against one’s own conscience.  When someone uses an excuse, they attempt to convince both themselves and others that their unsatisfactory performance is somehow acceptable.  The excuse is perhaps unconsciously, an attempt to divert attention from their performance and actually may be an invitation for sympathy.  The user of the excuse is dishonest with themselves as well as with others.  No matter how good or how valid an excuse is, the excuse never changes the result of the poor performance.

The world measures success in terms of performance alone.  No one is remembered in history for what they would, could or should have accomplished.  History never asks how hard it was to do the job, nor considers the obstacles that were overcome.  It never measures the handicaps.  It counts only one thing – PERFORMANCE.  No one ever accomplished anything worthwhile without consciously ignoring an excuse to fail.

To use an excuse is a habit.  We cannot have both the performance habit and excuse habit.  We all have a supply of excuses.  The more we use excuses, the easier it becomes to use them, the lower our standards become, and the poorer our performance.  The better we perform, the less acceptable excuses become.   Great performances are the result of the presence of high standards set by those who are most driven for success.  Certain standards are established in practice, in class, in the weight room, in the locker room and everywhere else which exceed the average in terms of preparation, effort and dedication.

The next time you want to defend your sub-par performance, say instead (at least to yourself),” NO EXCUSES!”