Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 118 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

How to Eliminate Excuses Forever

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 118 of our Trek. The past two days we explored the reasons we make excuses, which are primarily based in fear, and we discovered the types of excuses we make. Today we will learn how we can eliminate excuses forever. Please make sure you listen to all three episode on excuses to understand the full story.

 

In celebration of our 100th day of our Wisdom-Trek, please check out Wisdom-Trek.com and sign up for our drawing for a free Wisdom-Trek t-shirt that will take place on October 5th.  We are giving away 7 Wisdom-Trek t-shirts.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Our big news for today is that our sixth grandchild, Evelyn Grace was born at 12:53 am Friday morning.  She is the daughter of our middle son Barnabas and his wife Leesha. All three of them are doing well. We are so thankful and blessed. We now have three grandsons and three granddaughters. Granny and Gramps hope to be able to visit Grace within the next few days after she and Leesha have time to rest.

We drove up to Marietta today and will be up here for about 10 days with several activities planned. Hazel’s 1st birthday is on Saturday and our nephew Caleb Chamberlain is getting married on October 3rd in Lancaster Ohio so we are able to attend his wedding also. In addition, I will be continuing on with our renovations. It is slow, but life is a marathon. And, The Big House will probably be around a lot longer than I will, so there is no real rush. Perseverance and consistency are always on the trail to long-lasting success.

One way to ensure success in our daily trek is to make sure that we eliminate excuses because excuses stifle our results and make us less effective. So, it is time to head out onto the trail today and look for the markers that will teach us to eliminate excuses forever.  The markers are not hidden, but you do need to follow their instructions if you want to successfully navigate the trail of no more excuses.

During the past two days of our Trek, we explored the trails of specific types of excuses and presented some ideas on how to overcome the excuse obstacles on our path. On today’s trail, we will study the markers that will give us some general ideas, suggestions, and techniques we can use to eliminate all excuses forever.

 

As we study these trail markers, it’s important to understand that our excuses lead to stagnation and a life of regrets. Moreover, success in any field of endeavor requires a period of discomfort where we must venture into unfamiliar territories not knowing what to expect.

· Trail Marker #1 – Avoid Making Comparisons

Making comparisons between yourself and others will often make you feel disheartened if you are unable to live up to people’s standards and achievements. Instead, only compare yourself to your “best self.” No other comparisons are necessary. If through your highest efforts you surpass your personal best, then that’s good enough, at least until your next attempt.

· Trail Marker #2 – Avoid Dwelling on the Past

The moment we begin dwelling on past mistakes or failures is the moment we begin experiencing the emotion of regret. Immediately we look to point the finger at someone or something else in order to justify our failures instead of taking responsibility for our decisions and actions. As a result, we begin rationalizing and making excuses for our failed attempts.

If you begin today by focusing on the present moment rather than on the past,