You hear it everyday, everywhere. Excuses for being late, being early, and blaming others for circumstances. Shoot, we even make excuses when we receive a compliment!
When we make excuses or blame others we take ourselves out of the equation. Did Thomas Edison blame someone for his failed attempts at a light bulb? Nope, he went back to the drawing board and did it again a different way. Making an excuse can make us feel immediately better about a bad performance, but we also remove any opportunity for learning or improving.
Change your focus to things you can control. What could you have done differently? Making excuses for our actions or lack of action can stunt our growth and the growth of our youth.
Help your kids to not make excuses by helping them to focus on things they can work on. Refrain from allowing them to complain about bad calls, bad judges, or their competitors. Instead encourage them to congratulate those around them and to find ways they can improve. It’s not just about competing in karate. This is about their whole lives. You can make such a difference by teaching them to be responsible for their actions and give them life skills that will help them to cope and deal with failure as well as success.