Thursday, July 7, 2022

Focus on the Work, Not the Excuse

Excuses may make us feel better about ourselves. But they waste time and effort that could be spent learning from our mistakes and appreciating whatever task we’re doing

By André van Heerden, Communications Director

I used to do quite a bit of track and field racing. My best race was the 3,000 metre steeplechase.

An odd ritual took place before every race. The competitors would gather and wait for the race to be organized, the big hurdles put in place, and the officials to be ready. During this time of anxiety and stress, the racers would talk to each other.

One would expect that it might be mind games of one runner bragging about a fast time. Or another runner describing how they keep running faster or jumping higher. Or maybe another racer boasting about their impressive training leading up to this point.

But it was never that. It was the exact opposite.

One runner would complain about an ankle injury. Another would cough and say they felt sick. Another would tell the field that they’re likely to get lapped by everyone because of a blister or a pulled muscle.

The mind games were there, but they were all about declaring reasons why they may not win or place well. Doing this somehow relieved the pressure. Afterall, if someone was running with a pulled muscle, how could they be expected to do well?

Some of my favourite soccer games were when my team was playing without enough players or when we were playing a team with players a year older than us. All the pressure was off, and we were able to try our best without the worry of feeling badly if our best wasn’t good enough.

But it’s amazing how if we pulled off a great victory, we were all ready to take the credit. The talk of excuses all disappeared.

Wally from the cartoon strip Dilbert is an expert at this.

But going through life with a set of ready-made excuses isn’t honest or fulfilling, and people soon grow tired of hearing them. After I lost a few races to runners complaining of broken bones and food poisoning, I began to suspect that I was being lied to!

Rather than focusing on the pressure of just winning or losing, competitions and work become more enjoyable, and more rewarding, if the actual task is focused on.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes books, wrote, “The work is its own reward.”

Jonas Salk, a virologist who invented one of the first polio vaccines, noted that “the reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.”

Excuses may make us feel better about ourselves. But they waste time and effort that could be spent learning from our mistakes and appreciating whatever task we’re doing.

I remember one time falling into the trap of making excuses to my father on the way to a competition. After I finished my litany of woes, he waited a moment and then said, “Well, if you’re dealing with all that, you shouldn’t run.”

It was then that I realized that I really did want to run. Now, I had to tell my dad that my complaints weren’t that serious.

Don’t let pressure take away your joy of work and improving what you do.

Focus on the Work, Not the Excuse

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