Results Vs Excuses

‘Rakesh bhaiyya,’ said Rinku. ‘Rahul promised me he’d be here by 11 am and he hasn’t shown up yet. It’s infuriating.’

‘Ah, here he comes,’ said Rakesh. 

‘Hi Rakesh bhaiyya,’ said Rahul rushing in to sit at the table. ‘Sorry Rinku, got delayed. You won’t believe this but my alarm didn’t go off. Then my bike wouldn’t start. And mom gave me some work to do. To top it all there was a traffic jam on the way. I came as fast as I could.’

Rinku was not impressed. ‘Bhaiyya, Rahul always has an excuse for everything. Traffic, alarm…something or the other always comes up.’

‘Arre, I don’t do it on purpose do I?’ said Rahul. ‘These things happen. Don’t they happen to you sometimes?’

‘Sometimes,’ said Rinku. ‘Not always.’

‘Come on Rinku,’ said Rahul. ‘Bhaiyya, I try my best. Can I do better than that?’

‘Hmm, actually, you could,’ said Rakesh. ‘Look at it like this. For all the trouble you go through - to be on time, keep your word, work on your goals etc - do you normally get the result you want or do you end up giving excuses?’

‘I try hard bhaiyya,’ said Rahul. ‘But something or the other comes in my way. I rarely get the results I want. Just my bad luck.’

‘Not at all,’ laughed Rakesh. ‘The funda is simple. When you do anything, you have a choice - to either look for results or look for excuses. And whatever you look for, you will find.’

‘What do you mean bhaiyya?’ asked Rinku.

‘Simple,’ said Rakesh. ‘If you look for results, you’ll find ways to get those results. If you look for excuses, you’ll generate more excuses. Both ways, you get what you want. In this case you couldn’t get the result, which is coming on time, and ended up with excuses.’

‘But bhaiyya, they’re not excuses,’ said Rahul. ‘Those things really happened.’

‘I’m sure, Rahul’ said Rakesh. ‘But if you want to change your ‘luck’ from now on, choose deliberately between results and excuses. Excuses weaken your focus. They offer you an easy option that leads you away from the results you want. Tell me, what do you want - results or excuses?’

‘Results bhaiyya!’ said Rahul. ‘What should I do now?’

‘Stop giving excuses from now on,’ said Rakesh. ‘Next time you’re late, instead of giving excuses, accept that you were late and look for ways to correct that. When you refuse the excuse, the only option left is a result.’

‘Hmm,’ said Rahul. ‘Sounds tough.’

‘Not really Rahul,’ laughed Rakesh. ‘It’s a matter of choosing what you want, what’s good for you. Try it. You’ll be amazed at how many things get done when you stop giving excuses.’

‘I’m getting hot chai now bhaiyya,’ said Rinku. ‘No excuses.’

Pro tip: Whatever you do, you have a choice between looking for results or excuses. And whatever you look for, you will find.

Exercise: Make a list of all the excuses you are giving yourself for not doing well in the important areas of your life. Share with class, resolve not to give excuses anymore and focus on results.

 

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