The Hemingway Post: Denying excuses and making progress

Howdy,

It’s that time of the week again. Welcome back to the Hemingway Post, your one-stop shop for insight and advice on personal growth. 

On Monday, I’m starting school again as a sophomore in college. This has gotten me thinking about a lot of things, but one word stands out above the rest:

Change.

Although it seems like a simple word, I’ve realized that it’s a bit more complicated to understand than I previously thought

There are three main points I want to talk about:

• Change = growth, change = decay

• Only YOU can create change in your life

• Change takes time

It’s no doubt that throughout our lives, we change. Sometimes for the better and other times for the worse.

Looking back, I can pinpoint things that have changed me as a person. Some of these are:

1. Getting stronger in my faith (+)

2. Meeting my friends and girlfriend (+)

3. Using my phone excessively (-)

4. Being too reserved (-)

The first two things caused me to change positively and the second two caused me to change in a more negative way. Let me explain…

Getting stronger in my faith has allowed me to become happier, more selfless, and driven to improve. 

Meeting my friends and girlfriend has allowed me to be more vulnerable, and enjoy my life more.

Using my phone excessively has shortened my attention span and taken time away from the things that matter to me.

Being too reserved has prevented me from meeting new people and doing new things. 

So, what’s my point in all this?

My point is that change can be good, bad, or anywhere in between. We can’t be scared of making change just because sometimes it can be bad. We learn from it and move on. 

I highly recommend making a list of major changes that have happened in your life, like I did. Be as detailed as possible, and it doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else. 

You can always strive to better yourself by looking at the negative changes and working to counteract them. 

When was the last time you made an excuse?

I don’t know about you, but for me, it was…yesterday.

We tend to make excuses on the daily about small things, but I wanted to talk about something bigger.

I believe the worst excuses we can make are those about why we aren’t the person we want to be. 

The reality is, everyone is messed up in one way or another. Some have toxic relationships with their families, others suffer from depression and anxiety. And those things do have a say in who we are.

However, you can’t become the person you want to be if you blame external things for diminishing your progress.

When you take full accountability for the direction your life is going, you have a freedom like no other. You are in the driver’s seat of your own life.

So, I urge you to stop making excuses for not making progress and start making progress. It’s gonna be hard at first, but effort is the key. 

If you go to the gym and wake up the next morning, are you going to be in the best shape of your life?

I wish the answer was yes, but unfortunately, it is not.

It’s only after consistent weeks, months, and years of doing something that we start to see the rewards. 

There are two main points here…

First is that change takes time. We can’t do something once or twice and expect results. We need to create a schedule and persevere in order to change who we are. 

We need to do tasks with delayed gratification and keep going even when it gets difficult. And on the other side of this difficulty is what we’re seeking. 

Second, it’s never too late. I’m sure many of you believe that you are past your years, and no more progress can be made… 

That is completely untrue! Don’t make the excuse that it’s too late, because it never is. 

We all have different goals and visions of who we want to be, but how many of us really go for it? I would argue not enough. No matter if you’re young or old, forward progress can always be achieved. Remember this next time an excuse pops in your head. 

To close out, here’s the lovely meme of the week:

I hope you enjoyed this week’s post. Remember, all this means nothing if you don’t implement it into your own life. Try some different things out and see what works for you.

Keep making progress. Keep driving forward. Change for the better.

See you next Monday,

Trevor