Excuse or Explanation

Failures happen in life. There is no denying this fact. If we are alive, we will fail at some point or another. Having previously discussed failure, how we respond to failing is the most important part of any moment where we fail. By using failure as a tool for learning and as an opportunity, there is never really a reason to be ashamed of failing. There is simply room to learn and grow. When we fail there are very distinct differences between providing excuses or explanations. The difference between these two reactions and the rationales we provide upon failing help dictate our future results.

Excuses are used to place blame on others, while explanations are used to give a breakdown of what happened. Excuses are pushing responsibility elsewhere, while explanations are shouldering the load. Excuses are based on hypotheticals and “what ifs,” while explanations are based on the black and white. Excuses are reasons why we cannot, while explanations are reasons we did not, but will get better next time. Excuses are the manifestation of self-doubt hindering our performance, while explanations are honest assessments of what happened. Excuses bring us down, explanations prepare us for next time.

Like how everyone fails everyone makes excuses. Excuses are the easy way out when things do not go our way. They are an instinctive reaction. Excuses are easy because they don’t make us take accountability. They do not make us break down exactly what happened and why we failed. They are a way for us to simply push off any sort of ownership elsewhere. Instead of giving into the instinctive reaction that is an excuse, we should be more deliberate with our assessments of our shortcomings. The deliberate response leads to us evaluating and providing an explanation for what happened.

Instead of saying we did not have time to study more, we should assess how we really used our time to see what we can do differently next time. Instead of blaming our race day performance on bad wind in our faces for the first couple of miles, we can look at the entire race to see what happened. A marathon is 26.2 miles, not just the first couple! Look at the whole picture to find the explanation, look at the first page to find the excuse. The explanation tells the whole story while the excuse provides a sample. Explain the whole story to learn from it, skim the sample to potentially repeat the same mistake. Excuse or explanation, use one to hide and one to confront.