Be EXCUSED, be WEAK!
We all are saturated with masses of tasks and expectations on a regular basis. Hopefully, we can graciously complete most of the commitments that we make but since we are all human, and a lot of the things that we do may depend upon the acts of another, it is possible to fail at times. When we fail, we must take great care in how we present our self to those whom we have failed. We must not excuse our self or even hope to be excused. I will explain why.
The actual act of "being excused" allows us to be un-accountable for a position or task that we were trusted with which basically contributes more to the status of our incompetence. When a person who is counting on us “excuses” us I translate it into this; “It’s ok. Don’t worry about it. I know you can’t handle it, and everything that goes on in your life decides what you can do because you’re too weak to seize control of your life. Go ahead and go over in the corner and suck your thumb, and I’ll be by to drop your teddy bear off with a sippy cup in about 5 minutes after I pick up your slack.”
THAT is what I hear when someone says I’m excused. The "excuser" no longer has enough trust to take the time to reprimand me because he feels that it won't make my performance any better. Instead of wasting time yelling at a brick wall, he can be more productive by discovering another way to cover that which he can no longer trust me with. Eventually things will be structured to no longer suffer at the expressions of my incompetence. I will be easily excused at any time because I will no longer be important to the progress of that which I proved to be constantly neglectful towards. Respect would be lost for me and soon so would the need of my presence.
I have witnessed many situations where the one who fails his duty gets angry at the one that they failed, because they choose not to excuse their incompetence. People of this mindset are the ones who storm in with a bad attitude towards the place and people that they are late to causing discomfort in the ones who did not fail. It is extremely cowardly to behave as such when we know in fact that we are wrong.
When we ARE NOT excused for our screw ups it is because something or someone is still counting on us. They believe that we still can get it right so they are allowing something still to depend on us to progress. We may get reprimanded and even disciplined but as long as we are not excused, we may still hold value. They still believe in and respect us and this is the reaction that we want when we fail at our task or expectation, not to be excused like a child.
When we are incompetent we never want to express as that we are blameless even if we are. We always take the responsibility and humbly appreciate the disappointment that one may have to express to us for letting them down. And we later repair the wound by apologizing without offering excuses or blame. This will demonstrate our respect towards them. Then we must structure our self to never repeat that failure again.
The people who hold the keys to the gates that can progress our life are constantly seeking ones that they can trust to hand the keys over to. The progress of mankind rests on the shoulders of those who constantly adopt and address the neglected, abandoned responsibilities left by others. The give and accept no excuses especially when it can benefit them.
And THIS, is a "way" of the "Warrior's Edge"! -Jermaine Andre'
