“I Never Knew a Man Who Was Good at Making Excuses Who Was Good at Anything Else.” -Benjamin Franklin

“It is easy to take credit and to accept praise for all the good things that we do, but it can be most difficult to admit failure and to accept blame without excuse.  Not all battles are won, and with victory there will also be setbacks and defeats.  Be humble in our achievements and in our victories, and be honest and willing to accept responsibility when we know that we have fallen short or failed.  I have known people in my life that have made mistakes, but in their pride they could never admit to a wrong.  It is okay to say that you are not perfect, that you do not have the answer to every question and that you fall short on occasion.  Humility is the absence of pride, not the absence of strength, and in humility one does not seek accolades and praise, and one does not make excuses when they fail.”  

At times I fail, and at times others fail me.  However, I have come to realize that it is not the failure or disappointment from others that upsets me, but rather a lack of accountability is what I cannot stand.  If someone close to me makes a mistake, I am quick to forgive and move on.  However, if that mistake is made and is surrounded by excuses and a lack of accountability, I am bothered so much more.  With this realization, I am learning to also hold myself to a high standard of accountability. 

I will never be perfect, and some failure will always be a part of my life, but I try to be always mindful of my failures, to acknowledge them – without excuse – so that I can grow as a person and hopefully not fail at that particular thing again.  If we have excuses for every failure, a reason why it’s not our fault, then how will we ever overcome that failure?  Making excuses only stunts our growth as a person, so let us all learn to stop being good at spewing forth excuses so that we can instead be good at so much more.