5 EXCUSES YOU SHOULD STOP MAKING NOW!

Just this night before, my friend told me how she faces trouble sleeping at night and how this is ruining her life. I simply mentioned that she needs to go for a walk and exercise a little, and of course, she knew that already. But all I got back was an excuse- for not doing it!

We all have messed up our lives with habitual excuses, that it is almost impossible for our minds to figure out which one is an excuse and which one an actual reason!

Cutting down a long list- to these 5 everyday excuses that are miserably holding us back from moving on, which majority of us need to give up right now!

“I am so busy. I don’t have time.”

Why do we think we are so special?

Everybody has those same 24 hours in a day and this is where successful people separate themselves from the rest of the world. People will easily make time for things they like to do; watching television, surfing neglectful time on internet but when it comes to something that requires effort and consistency, they have no time for it. Reason could be; ONE: It’s hard and needs commitment, TWO: It’s not on their priority list.

The fact that we are so much addicted to comfort and ease that it’s almost impossible for us to make room for new things- It’s only when we will seriously want to do something, we will be able to make more time by sleeping late and waking up early, thus maximizing our time!

We don’t have time for things we don’t wish to do. Otherwise bad need and great desire can always make a way for itself.

“I can’t do it. It’s too difficult.”

When was that you did something for the very first time and you finished it without facing any difficulty? Not many times, Right?

Chances are it’s hard. But reality is that you can do it if you stop making excuses or even at least make an attempt to do it. Big things don’t come easy. Ask people, Google it, make time to do as much research as you need to do on it. Stop underestimating your skills and accept the fact that learning something new takes time, energy and effort.

The difficult the task, the more satisfaction you will have on its completion!

“I’ll start tomorrow”

Exactly, why do something when you have tomorrow?

Honestly, if you are used to making this excuse, you are probably never going to do it. Because when tomorrow comes, you’ll still be saying that you will do it tomorrow. And interestingly, tomorrow will never come!

You will never feel like doing something that REALLY needs to be done. In fact, you will have to struggle against the “not now” in your head. Nobody likes to do stuff that’s tough. But if you tell yourself that you’re just going to do it for five minutes, you will surprisingly find yourself getting  involved and then completing the rest of it because half begun is half done.

Stop worrying about what you can do tomorrow. Break your task into baby steps and start worrying about what you can do today! Without struggle and pain (of initiating), you will never see it progressing. It’s either today, now or never!

“It’s not my fault.”

It’s interesting how people invest so much energy in making excuses like “I tried my best to do it, but still couldn’t do it.” This one is a disastrous excuse that will not only harm you but others who believed in you. The dark truth is, we think we did out best, but we didn’t. We lacked somewhere and we need to admit where we went wrong. No one else can be held accountable for our mistakes. The day we will start taking responsibility of our failings, will be the day when we will start seeing new doors open for us. The sooner we realize this, the better it is!

Next time if you ever find yourself stuck in choosing between making an excuse  (to avoid embarrassment) or admitting your mistake, ask yourself if you want to be remembered as a person courageous enough to take responsibility of his misconduct or someone who always has an excuse for not doing something? Your actions depict you, so choose wisely!

“I am afraid to fail.”

What makes failure so bad? It’s all in our heads and also because from a very early age we are taught never to fail because failure was never a good thing and nobody accepted it! What nobody told us was that it is sometimes fine to fail.

The fact that we all make mistakes and this is how we all effectively grow. When I try to explore new places, I end up being into a totally strange and unknown place so many times (even with a GPS!!). But this is how I learn to know.

Failure is just an event, it doesn’t define who you are! And how will you ever learn about your capabilities unless you allow yourself the permission to fail?

If you sit and start taking down notes on why you didn’t, couldn’t, shouldn’t or wouldn’t do something, you might have a never ending list of excuses. But guess what? You have one amazing reason to do it, and that’s because you want to!

Isn’t it enough?

7 Habits of Successful Students

There must be these Einsteins and Dexters in your class who are almost good at everything, and then they force you to think why can’t you be like them?

Well, you may feel demotivated when you see someone else excel in almost every subject they lay hands on and you have a feeling of lagging behind. To have such feelings is quite normal, but if you think that they are prospering in everything without making any effort, because they are God-gifted or it’s in their genes, then you are wrong. Possibility is that they are following better study strategies than yours!

I am going to reveal these 7 surprising habits that all the student high achievers follow for compelling results!

Successful students are good at:

CREATING A TIME TABLE:

Most of the students either do not have an organized study plan or do not follow it sincerely. And when their performance suffers, they say, “Oh I studied hard, but don’t know why my efforts never yield the results? I know it’s all because of my bad luck!” But the fact is that toppers never waste time blaming their luck, rather they save it by planning their daily schedule. If you are stressed out about the quantity of work you are burdened with, a clear and balanced time table will organize your plans and will help you reduce your stress levels every time you mark your task as complete!

MAKING PERSONAL NOTES:

This is a life changing habit! It’s been scientifically proven that by making your own personal notes, using mind maps, flashcards and other effective techniques, you are able to discover your own unique methods of learning with which you can maintain exceptional grades in class. While you are making your own notes, you are actively listening and are preparing yourself for the upcoming quiz because when you write something down, it is likely to stay in your mind for a greater time.

SLEEPING ENOUGH:

Sleep is deeply connected to our learning process. Science says that little or no sleep impacts our mood negatively and reduces our ability to learn new things. Especially during exams, insufficient sleep weakens your immune system and disturbs your mind. Without the correct amount of sleep, you will never be able to stay focused in class and will likely bunk to sleep. No sleep means no class. No class, no notes. No notes, no good grades. Thus, if you are a university student, you ought to have a sleep of at least 8 hours every night.

CREATING REALISTIC GOALS:

The habit of setting realistic goals places successful students above everyone else. Not just setting but writing them down, dividing them into small steps and then working on them honestly. Setting a goal to do with 3 “major” chapters in an hour shows how non-serious you are about doing it. It is advised to take a short break of five minutes after reading one major section to restore your energy levels instead of trying to learn everything in one go.

REDUCING DISTRACTIONS:

The dominant prominent topper in your class knows when to study and when to party. Also they know that Facebook and Twitter will not let them concentrate, so they shut their accounts down and keep their cell-phones away. Because their goals are defined, and the thoughts of success tempt them, they keep every little distraction five hundred miles away when it’s time for them to study.

KEEPING THEIR COMPANY CLEAN:

They say the company you keep describes a lot about the kind of person you are. And that’s true! It’s widely seen that mostly all the toppers are one pole of the class and the other pole is formed by all the other non-serious students. High achievers in your class make it their top priority to engage with people who have goals similar to them, are eager to learn and have a positive attitude towards studies. An impractical and goal-less person can never motivate you to achieve your goals. If you wish to be successful in life, remember to surround yourself with successful, motivated and positive people.

FACING FAILURE WITH COURAGE:

You must think successful students never fail? That’s not true. Even the topper student messes up sometimes. Making mistakes in a test, losing marks etc. But because these people are focused and confident about themselves, they readily accept such failures and do not blame their environment for it rather they believe that such mistakes can always be improved and show it by rectifying it next time with their honest efforts. Making a mistake and then learning a lesson is far better than hitting your target in first attempt. Some lessons are better learnt by failing.

These 7 habits will help you succeed as a student only if you have sincere intentions to work on them.

Work hard and take the lead. Good luck!