Chris Guillebeau wrote a post today called “All the Things You Don’t Need”. Here’s an excerpt:

Focusing on something you don’t have (but think you need) can be a dangerous, common pattern. The pattern is to identify something you lack and use that as an obstacle that prevents you from doing what you really want.

With an obstacle identified, we feel better. No harm done, right? No harm except that nagging sense in the back of our brain that we really should be doing something differently. Not to worry: most people come to terms with it over time.

I do this. I let obstacles to a task, a passion, or a goal serve as excuses to not attempt them. It’s not a fear of failure. It’s a fear of not having a perfect process.

This is stupid.

Chris continues:

Fortunately, many of the obstacles we perceive are not really obstacles. Many of the things we think we need are unnecessary.

Isn’t that true?

Some of this is tied to thankfulness. If I were to be more thankful for what I have, I’d be more prone to go do something with it. Instead, I wait for something – often the perfect, measurable, replicable, neatly-wrapped, guaranteed-outcome process – and I have an excuse for inaction.

What obstacles do you use as excuses?

Tags: Chris Guillebeau, excuses, process