“It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.”
-George Washington
Excuses. Often times this is what we have the tendency to default to when we make a mistake or something doesn’t turn out the way we had hoped. There are some people I’m sure you know that make excuses and the creative ones they come up with are a work of art. The thing of it is though some excuses are credible ones like you were caught in traffic and that is why you were late to the meeting or your house lost internet and that is why you missed the midnight deadline of submitting your proposal. However it is the ones that are so far fetched that it borders on downright lying like you say to someone you were late due to an accident on the road when really ti was because you lost track of time scrolling through social media.
President George Washington’s quote serves as a great reminder that there are times when it is better to offer no excuse than a bad one. When we make an error in judgment or just an error in general on our watch, it is up to us to control and regulate the correct response that should be coming from our mouths: the truth. The truth, no matter what the consequences may result from it will be much better for us and anyone else involved in the long run that offering a bad excuse. We need to own up to our mistakes as they happen as we would want the same courtesy to be provided to us from others. When we offer no excuse and the truth instead then the true measure of someone’s character and values come shining through and to me these are the ones you would want others to see.
What does this quote mean to you and how can you apply today’s message towards managing yourself better?