Have you ever had someone tell
you to give yourself a little grace? I certainly have. I’ve also said it to
other people, more times than I can count.
But then, I was asked:
“how do you know when you’re giving yourself grace and not just making excuses.
What’s the difference?”
Woah.
I wrestled with this
question for a long time. Like, a really, really long time. Is giving yourself
grace really just the same as making an excuse?
I couldn’t accept that. And ultimately, after a lot of pondering, I realized
that to me, the difference looks something like this:
Grace says that mistakes aren’t
fatal; Excuses use mistakes as a reason to quit.
Grace says that progress is more
important than perfection; Excuses use perfection as a reason to procrastinate.
Grace says ‘I am not my mess;' Excuses
believe that the mess defines you
Grace understands the bigger picture;
Excuses fixate on the tiny details.
Grace recognizes that people aren’t
perfect and offers forgiveness; Excuses use the failure as a reason to write someone
off.
Grace is big; Excuses are small.
Grace offers courage; Excuses
propagate fear.
Grace brings hope; Excuses make you
feel hopeless.
Grace gives you the reason to try
again tomorrow; Excuses allow you to give up.
Which will
you choose?
