Welcome To The Excuse Economy

I don’t know if you’ve heard but this economy is really messing up some things. They say these are unprecedented economic times. We are in a recession! Jobless claims are higher than they have been in decades. We needed a government funded stimulus package yesterday. Businesses are slashing prices so that you can survive in this tough economy. In dire financial straits? In this economy, that’s tough! Underwater with stock options or your mortgage? Well in this economy, things are going to get worse before they get better.

Sorry about that. I was just channeling cable news’ 24 hour coverage of the economy.

Let’s acknowledge this first: some people and businesses are suffering through no fault of their own. Even though people suffer everyday (in good economies and bad), the amount is probably greater than it was before the slow collapse of the housing and stock markets.

What I want to talk about is the dark underbelly of something that is happening for more and more businesses and individuals across the country.

The New Excuse

Remember when we could blame a single politician for all of our economic ills? Those days were so much more simple! Now we have to blame an entire macroecnomic system that includes things like greedy margin traders, poorly run businesses, irresponsible mortgage brokers, gullible/moronic consumers, foreign trade differentials, the free market, quasi-socialism, boisterous unions and a government that exudes its own spending sword.

It often becomes a game of six degress of separation as we look at more and more ways to connect every day issues into economy connected tragedies. Neighborhood looking like a ghost town? With enough effort and mental fortitude, you can blame that on unions, foreign trade and the fiat money system! Just try.

The fact of the matter is, people are looking for ways to blame others for circumstances they find themselves in their lives. Let’s face it too: sometimes the blame is completely legitimate. But even in its legitimacy, laying blame at someone else’s feet does nothing to move you forward. Ultimately, you can only control your actions and your actions dictate the macroeconomic picture of the country (even if it is a marginal impact).

Your Actions Are Your Responsibility

While you may not be able to completely control the economic climate of this country, you can control your actions. I’ve heard some not-so-fun stories from the frontlines of the employment fight: multi-decade employees being laid off without notice and without severance, mistreatment of employees because of limited job options, pay decreases for otherwise profitable companies and here today, gone tomorrow business closings. The excuse being in every scenario: in this economy, decisions are tough but necessary.

The problem? You get to live with those decisions when the economy picks up again. And if you don’t face the consequences now, you will face it when people have more options. Good luck picking up people when your company gets a reputation for kicking people when they are down.

Similarly, people who made poor decisions are now laying the blame at the feet of the economy. Even though they started making bad decisions before the economy. Even though there was serious risk to the decisions they were making. Even though they were destined to fail even in the best of economies. They say it is the economy but it is really them. And all the while, they turn their wheels in that mudpit instead of making progress.

The No Excuse Economy

We can’t get over making excuses all of the time but we can work on reducing the amount excuses we make. A really simple exercise I use is forcing myself to think of three non-excusable actions I took every time I make an excuse for something that happened to me. So for example, last week I was blaming the referees for handing a basketball game to the Golden State Warriors over my Portland Trail Blazers. When I thought about the game more though, the Blazers didn’t go inside enough, they didn’t move their feet on defense and they turned the ball over too much. Those are three things the Blazers had control of that the refs had no part in and it made me think the excuses we make are often along those same lines.

Personal accountability for your path in life is something that is not only a personal philosophy but a professional one as well. It is one that I am still admittedly learning about and growing into but it is more difficult when the economy is tough because the excuses come so easy. Make a pact with yourself to reduce the number of excuses you make though and I think it can help stop the spinning wheels and give you a leg up. And that leg up? Well, it is more important than anything right now.