What is Your Excuse, Today?

My son and I are going on a backpacking trip with his scout troop. Yesterday, a backpacking expert came and spoke to our troop and their parents about how to prepare for this trip. He talked about getting the right equipment, bringing light-weight nutritious food, having clothing appropriate for any weather we might experience, how to stay dry, respect for wildlife, proper foot care, planning for shelter, first aid and safety practices, and on and on. He taught these young men how to anticipate and prepare for any conceivable situation that they might encounter.

I could tell that the boy’s eyes were starting to glaze over at all of the preparation and thought required for a backpacking trip of this kind. Then this expert began asking questions.

What if you get half way up the mountain and you get a huge blister? Whose fault is it?

What if you run out of food, or your stove doesn’t work? Whose fault is it?
What if a wild animal comes into your camp while you are sleeping? Whose fault is it?

What if you’re cold, or your bed is uncomfortable, or you get lost, or any of a thousand other things happen? Whose fault is it?

His answer, of course, it’s the scout’s fault!

Nature accepts no excuses. Imagine a farmer forgetting to plant in the spring, sluffing off all summer, and then working extra hard in the fall to bring in the harvest. He may be full of excuses, he may have good reasons, but there is still no harvest.

What can you and I learn from this? Many of the things that we use as excuses could have been anticipated and avoided with a little forethought and planning. Of course, there will occasionally be things that happen that we could never have anticipated. That’s life. But, can we do a better job at anticipating and preparing for the future? Yes, we can.

Success Tip: The Boy Scout motto is: Be Prepared. Let’s adopt that in our own lives. It may eliminate some excuses. But it will also eliminate the need to have an excuse in the first place. Here’s to a successful future that is well planned and executed.