Remember the times when you had to come up with excuses for why you didn’t deliver on a promise. We have all been there and when we look back on it, it’s crystal clear that maturity, responsibility, and equipping yourself to meet the commitment was all that was needed.

Do you think that children who make excuses for broken promises become adults who make excuses for broken promises?

Let’s take the age-old, “the dog ate my homework.” We all know that the excuse isn’t the explanation. In the end, the explanation has more to do with being immature, irresponsible, and ill-equipped to do what is expected of you. I know that is a bit harsh of a grading scale for the fourth-grader who forgot to finish his homework. The point that I am making here is that these children can become adults who say “the dog ate my computer.”

I can say that I have heard this exact explanation from someone (who will remain nameless) for why my emails were not responded to in a timely manner. Fortunately, there wasn’t a promise of an email response time and it wasn’t delivered as an excuse. 🙂

So the next time someone tells you an excuse that should be an explanation for a lack of specific discipline and accountability, make sure you display the appropriate level of acceptance. If not, the next excuse that you could here could be “the dog ate my car!”