Excuses Begone!: How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits

I really enjoyed this book. I loved that Dyer gives us the 18 typical excuses thought by most people. These include: "I am too old/or too young", "I am afraid", "I don't have the time" or "I don't have the money" etc... After naming the excuses, he let's us in on the seven principles for overcoming excuses: awareness, alignment, now, contemplation, willingness, passion, and compassion. After telling us the principles he shows the reader a new way of looking at excuses, creating a paradigm shift. Dyer asks the reader to ask themself six questions which include "Is it true?" , "Where did the excuse come from?" and "What is the payoff?" Other books I read, and highly recommend, to let go of self defeating thoughts are Working on Yourself Doesn't Work: The 3 Simple Ideas That Will Instantaneously Transform Your Life How to Create a Magical Relationship: The 3 Simple Ideas that Will Instantaneously Transform Your Love Life Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment by award winning authors Ariel & Shya Kane.

Dr. Dyer's thesis is a simple one. It can be summarized simply as follows: "There is nothing rational about what I am asking you to contemplate here, nor is this an intellectual exercise: I am imploring you to contemplate - this is your heart I am speaking to, not your head. When you feel there is something for you to do, and that inner voice will not be silenced, I urge you to look at that sheet of paper that represents what you will not do to fulfill your destiny." There you have it in a nutshell. Dr. Dyer is asking us to surrender to a wisdom that is counter cultural in scope and praxis. This wisdom goes against the machine of modern living. Everything that we have been manipulated into thinking (in some cases coerced into ways of being) all inimical to the ways of our heart. The various orthodoxies that culture, family, and friends urge us to commit to, goes against every grain of what this wisdom tells us. Herein the challenge, and the fight for our personal freedom. This is no small undertaking. It requires engagement against the forces that create unhappy lives, and mediocre ways of being-in-the-world. We march through our lives, numbed down, less than alive. All the while we know at some spiritual level deep inside our authentic selves that another life is waiting to be lived. It is in fact banging on the prison we have created for ourselves. The invitation this book offers is a plan of action along with a map to free ourselves from the prison inside. Dr. Dyer is showing us our own personal chains, and how we can break them forever. How you think activates the circumstances that flow into your experience. It is that simple, and that difficult. Observing our thoughts is a full time practice that requires above all an impeccable courage, constant vigilance, and attributes that we knew as children, but crushed by adults and social forces seeking to perpetuate the cycle of our bondage. This book is the antidote. It is not a panacea. It asks a pertinent question of all who enter this wisdom school: it asks us, "Are you ready for personal transformation and the hard work to change the way you think? If grace is able to enter your experience in this moment, and you can answer "yes" to the call, then maybe like Thoreau, you "can march to the drummer you hear, however measured or far away." If life no longer holds a mystery for you, perhaps this is your one chance; don't let the voices around you drag you down to complacency any longer. Say "no" to the naysayers, and critics calling to share their meaningless pain because they lack courage to lift themselves up, and desire that you share their perpetual discomfort and conformity to the machine of modern living. If you have had enough of living small, this book is a timely wake up call.

I read lots of self help books and this is one of the best I've read on how to give up our self-imposed limitations and make the best of our lives. It has really inspired me to give up my excuses for why I can't get more things done and get in shape.

I have read most of Wayne's books, and this was one of the better ones. I used a highlighter on many areas of the book: I love Wayne's style of intertwining great philosophical quotes, anecdotes and personal stories to illustrate his points. The book starts out citing compelling science and studies, including Bruce Lipton's research proving that genes are far from destiny, and that our beliefs influence even our genes. This is truly the foundation for a "no excuses" paradigm. Wayne delves into the concept of memes, or mind viruses and explains how these are passed on to people like cold viruses. Next, 18 typical excuses are presented (many of these solicited from his readers). It will be difficult, risky, take too long, create family drama; I don't deserve it; it's against my nature; I can't afford it (surely a popular one today!); no one will help me; it's not happened before; I'm not strong/smart enough; I'm too old/too young; the rules/laws won't let me; it's too big; I don't have the energy/time; it's in my family history; I'm afraid. I was disappointed that my favorite excuse "I'll do it later" wasn't listed, although it was addressed indirectly in various parts of the book, especially in the "commitment to overcoming the inertia" part. The second section seven contains principles for overcoming excuses: awareness, alignment, now, contemplation (with a very powerful quote from Aristotle--"Contemplation is the highest form of activity"), willingness, passion and compassion. The third section promotes a new way of viewing excuses, creating a paradigm shift. This includes asking yourself six questions, starting out with "Is it true?" Where did the excuse come from? What is the payoff?" These are very reminiscent of Bryon Katie except that instead of undoing beliefs, you are undoing excuses and eradicating them from your subconscious mind (which Wayne argues need not be beneath your consciousness, and in fact renames as the "habitual mind"). I see people all the time using these excuses to avoid eating a better diet of more raw foods: It will create family drama; I don't have the time to fix good food; I don't have the money to buy fresh produce." My father's excuse was, "I am too old." Unfortunately, he died of cancer two years after using that excuse! I am confident that this book will inspire people to take a new look at their habitual mind patterns, breaking free to move on to their highest potential!