10.12.2011

Excuses

Don't give yourself any excuse to be less amazing than you are. 

Don't use your genetics, your experiences, or your misfortunes, as a means to limit your future. 

Your past does not define you. Your relationships don't define you. Your finances don't define you.

You define you.

Life events shape your experience. Your experience writes your story. Your story becomes your life.

But your best life can only happen... when the best you is present for it.

In life, there will always be the things you can change... and the things you can't change. But no matter what you can't change: You can always change you.

Every experience can either be used... as the motivation to push you forward... or as the excuse to hold you back.
Motivation leads to growth, success, and fulfillment.
Excuses lead to complacency and mediocrity... self-destruction and despair.

Bad things are going to happen... to all of us. But every negative event can be turned into something positive. Heartbreak can lead to love. Trauma can become motivation. Death can give way to life.

However, it's much easier to turn those negative events into excuses. Those excuses can then be leveraged... to deny our potential, limit our progress, and prevent any happiness.

Excuses build a stairway to regret. That stairway leads to a less amazing life... thanks to a less amazing you.

Never give more power to any life event... than you give to yourself. The event itself has no power. Experiences don't make you, or break you. You do.

I didn't become the person I am today, because I've had an easy life. Not even close. Many bad things have happened to me... and each of those events presented me with the opportunity to make excuses... and do less with my life.

But I'm better than that. I'm stronger than that. I deserve more than that. And so do you.

Your experiences are very much a part of you, but those experiences should never define you. Maybe you can't always choose what will happen to you, but you can always decide how you handle it. 

In an instant, your life can change, forever. You can change, forever.
But how you change... is up to you.
When something bad happens, acknowledge it, work through it, and learn from it.
Then... let it go... and let you grow. 

When you make excuses for why you are the way you are... you deny the person you could be.
There's only one you.
You have only one life.
And your life is happening now.
You can make every excuse not to live it... but is there any excuse that's worth it?? 

YOU are amazing. Start acting like it. No excuses.

17 comments:

  1. Ashley, YOU are amazing!!!

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  2. Wise and thoughtful words :-)

    Thanks for the boost.

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  3. Wow! Thankyou! THis is what I needed today! Big Big Hugs to you ;)

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  4. You always have a way with summing it all up and saying it right. This was the kick in the butt I needed today! :)

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  5. You are an amazing person!Thank you for all that you do for the animals!
    HUGS XoXoXoX

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  6. I just love your site and have so much respect for what you do....

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  7. Very good words of wisdom, but there is one statement I'm not on board with. "The event itself has no power." I believe some events are extremely powerful. Hopefully not more powerful than the person experiencing the event, but very powerful nonetheless. Ex.-Back in March my fiancee and I were walking our one dog. While crossing the road she was stuck by a car right behind me and ultimately passed over to the Other Side. Indeed, my life changed forever in an instant and it's up to me to deal with this loss appropriately. But however I choose to deal with it, this event carried a ton of energy and is extremely powerful. To me anyway!

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  8. I Love you AShley you are the BEST!!!!!!!!!

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  9. thank you! you inspire me in so many ways!

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  10. This is such an amazing post, Ashley! I can think of a few people in my life who would benefit from reading it. Thank you for being you! You inspire us everyday!

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  11. @Kel,
    I, too, have lost dogs to tragedy, and it was nothing short of heartbreaking. For me, it was life-changing, because I placed a lot of power in those events, since it was certainly powerful for me.

    However, other people may lose their pets and not experience the pain I did. They may even move on right away. That's because the event itself only has as much power as WE give it.

    That doesn't make my way right and their way wrong, or vice versa. It just means that WE determine which events are powerful for us.

    Of course there are powerful experiences in our lives... because they have a powerful impact on us. The way in which the event affects us determines the power we give to that event. That's why everyone experiences each event differently.

    The point was: never give more power to an event than you give to yourself. That's how an experience can break your spirit completely. My dog's death was tragic for me. It did break me for a while... because I handed over all of my power in order to mourn his death.. instead of honoring his life. But when I took back my power.. so many amazing, positive things happened. That allowed me to honor his life.

    Events can certainly have a powerful impact on our lives. But again, the event only has as much power... as we give to it.

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  12. I have learned alot from you just reading you're blogs.You're like my hero and you have to be one of the MOST strongest person to do what you do everyday,

    Thank you.

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  13. all my dogs that i have owned were rescuses and i wouldn;t have it no other way i had 1 that lived to be 20 1 was 18 the other was 13 n ow i have my chester is is 7 years young m y other 3 are still with me i had them cremated so they can be with me forever they are forever in my heart and each time ki look at those beautiful tins i smile so ty for what you do if i had all the money in the world i would take them all and fill them with love and kisses i sponsor dogs sometimes just so i know how they are doing and if you like i can do that as well

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