EXPLANATIONS? . . . OR EXCUSES?

 31 December 18:00   

    EXPLANATIONS? . . . OR EXCUSES?   by Pauline Wallin, Ph.D.

    EXPLANATIONS? . . . OR EXCUSES?

    By Pauline Wallin, Ph.D

    Author of "Taming Your Close Brat: A Adviser for Transforming Self-defeating Behavior"

    Word count: 757

    Copyright Pauline Wallin, Ph.D. 2004. All rights aloof

    Which of the afterward "explanations" accept you heard (or used!) in the accomplished few weeks?

    * I charge to accolade myself for getting so good.

    * The bang-up hates me.

    * It s been too hot (too cold, too rainy) to exercise

    * Of advance I accept problems. I m a average child.

    * It was the booze talking.

    It s appealing accessible that the aloft "explanations" are basically excuses for alienated responsibility. Your close brat uses such excuses to absolve overeating, underachievement and adage aching things.

    Next attending at the following. They about assume like believable explanations:

    * Apologetic I m backward again. There was a lot of traffic.

    * I anchorage t had a adventitious to alarm her back. It s been crazy about here.

    * I never went to academy because my parents didn t animate me.

    * I didn t wish to aching your feelings.

    * I can t assume to get things done because of my ADHD (attention arrears hyperactivity disorder).

    But these, too, are still excuses, not explanations. If you appraise the aloft statements added closely, you will acquisition that they are not absolutely explanatory, and are calmly challenged. For example:

    * Getting chronically backward is not acquired by traffic; it s acquired by not abrogation abundant time for travel.

    * If a buzz alarm is important enough, a being will about consistently acquisition the time .

    * Abridgement of affectionate advance may accept some access on one s life, but eventually we all accept choices to create about advance our time and energy.

    * Alotof of the time humans abstain battle not to assure anyone abroad s feelings, but to assure their own.

    * Humans with ADHD charge to plan harder to break focused but this does not beggarly they cannot complete their tasks.

    A true account shows a cause-and-effect relationship: Bearings X acquired Aftereffect Y. Excuses masquerade as explanations, but are absolutely distortions of the truth. Excuses cover afterward elements:

    1. They usually accusation additional humans or alien affairs -- e.g., "I hit him because he create me mad," or "You re too sensitive," or "It was just my bad luck."

    2. If they accusation oneself, they usually adjure a claimed affection or limitation -- e.g., "I m not acceptable at befitting clue of bills," or "You Understand I never bethink details," or "I accept no self-discipline."

    3. They abbreviate the appulse of insults, breaches of trust, and abuse to others -- e.g., "Everybody does it." or "Why are you so upset? It s no big deal"

    4. They attack to acquit the excuse-maker of claimed responsibility.

    5. They assume to create added faculty afterwards the fact, than they would accept advanced -- e.g., you ability rationalize, "I adapted that batter of Godiva chocolates because I formed harder all day." But would it absolutely create faculty to say, "If I plan harder today the best accolade for my efforts is a batter of Godivas?"

    It s actual appetizing to create excuses. In actuality it is one of your close brat s admired strategies. Excuses serve to assure you from adverse your own shortcomings. They aswell try to accumulate additional humans from acquainted your limitations. Excuses are a way of saying, "I m absolutely a acceptable person, but . . ."

    At the aforementioned time , however, excuses are alone a temporary, quick fix. You may feel bigger for the moment, but in the continued run you are annoyed with yourself.

    No one has any time acquainted aerial by authoritative an excuse. Adverse the accuracy is some time s difficult, but it gives you the befalling to yield charge, to create absolute decisions and to gradually annihilate the charge for excuses.

    Here are some tips:

    1. Face the actuality that you busted up. For accessory transgressions, it s not the end of the world. For above problems, your alibi isn t traveling to about-face the bearings anyway. Things are what they are, and you can alone move advanced from there.

    2. Apologize. Accede that it was your own fault. Accumulate it simple; e.g., "I m apologetic I m late. I didn t acquiesce abundant time for cartage problems." Apprehension how this archetype starts with the chat "I" in the explanation.

    3. Action to create amends; e.g., "I won t let it appear again," or "Is there some way I can create this up to you?"

    4. Apprentice from the experience. Create a accommodation about how you will handle this or agnate situations in the future.

    5. Address down your accommodation and amusement it as a affiance to yourself. This is abnormally advantageous for excuses you create to yourself, such as if you rationalize dabbling or abandoning your exercise program.

    

 


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