There are certain types of excuses I can handle but most of them just make me angry. When you have a job or activity planned and others have made a commitment to be there, it seems that some people that were part of the plan change their minds at the last second.
I understand that there is unforeseeable circumstances like a death in the family or that maybe someone forgot an important date like a wedding but to use this type of excuse repeatedly over and over again gets old fast. Coming to me and saying "I forgot" is like saying to me "you are not important enough for me to remember and I don't care."
Why can't people just be honest at the beginning? I do not have a problem with someone saying no right when I ask them for help. Don't commit to something you can't commit to.
Another type of excuse I have a huge issue with is the ones that have maybe, could and might somewhere in the sentences. These type are commonly used with some sort of safety concern, I agree with being as safe as possible but using safety as an excuse to get out of work is just plain lazy. Saying something like " I don't want to pull nails with a hammer because the hammer might break off and hurt me." is complete stupidity. If that's the case then anything you do could might maybe possibly kill you, better not do anything at all ever for fear of dying.
Another type of excuse I despise is the story excuse, where someone goes into a long drawn out story with peoples first and last names, times, what they were wearing and how they got into the situation. I do not want to listen for 20 minutes while you spout out nonsense about what happened. I would rather you tell me your alarm clock failed. (classic excuse).
I try really hard not to use excuses, If I make a commitment to someone I try really hard to honor it. If I don't want to do something I will say "No I don't want to do that" I have done many things in the past that I didn't want to do but I did them anyway because I said I would.
Are you an excuse maker?
Scott Goerz
