The No Excuses mindset has contributed the most to my success and resilience. In this article, I’ll explain why it’s important and how to develop it.
The stage was set.
I was standing in front of the management team from a government organisation, about to deliver a seminar. But, I was worried about a key section that I’d only added the day before.
To my delight, that last minute addition ended up being the topic they were most excited about.
The topic revolved around two simple words.
No. Excuses.
The premise for the No Excuses mindset is simple. Every time you start to complain about something, stop. Think about how you can take control of the situation and be accountable for it.
Here are three reasons why having the No Excuses mindset can make you more successful and resilient in life and business.
1. You will get what you want – faster
Let’s look at a practical example of how you’ll get what you want faster.
Have you ever said these words or heard someone else say them? “They haven’t returned my email.”
In this situation, these are the things I’d think about:
- Do people sign a contract that says they will return my emails and calls? No, so therefore it’s my responsibility to email or call, not wait.
- Is it possible the email didn’t even get to them? Instead of waiting to find out, I will call and check, instead of delaying. This saves weeks of lost time, only to find out it didn’t arrive.
- Did I set expectations that would have given me more control over the situation? For example, did I ask, “Could you please let me know by Tuesday?” or “I’ll follow up my email on Tuesday.”
- Is it urgent? If it is urgent, is email really the wisest course of action? I probably should have called.
2. It makes your success repeatable
When you start to make excuses about what other people do to you, there is one big problem. What happens to you, good or bad, is not repeatable.
Conversely, if you adopt full accountability, you can analyse root causes for any situation that is within your control to ensure that your success is repeatable, and your mistakes aren’t.
Not accountable: “He didn’t call me back, but finally did after two weeks. Why are people so slow?!”
Accountable: “When I follow up my emails with a call within two days, I almost always get a response within a week.”
3. Fear will subside
The best part about being fully accountable is that you remove the fear of not knowing. Not knowing how your customer will react, not knowing if they’ll call you back, not knowing if xyz will happen.
For the first time, none of these questions will matter because you will be in complete control. You will have formulated repeatable strategies to create any outcome of your choosing.
So, why wait? Start taking control over your outcomes today, and let the No Excuses mindset help you achieve more.
This article was originally published in 2014 and has been updated for 2022.
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