Hi friend,
I was speaking to my younger cousin today, who might kill me for writing this if he finds it 🫣
He said,
"I'm going to suck at this exam because of [enter excuse 1]."
To which I asked him
"How does this completely unrelated thing affect your ability to study?"
He obviously made up excuse #2 🤭
And I'll tell you how our talk concluded towards the end of this post.
The reason I'm writing this is... a lot of you are making the same mistake as him and getting left behind.
But you can change that.
When it comes to making excuses, being from a developing country gives you more reasons than anyone else.
When you live in India as I do, survival is a struggle.
It's 2025, and we still don't have:
- unlimited running water
- 24/7 electricity
- clean air
I'm not even going to deep dive into stuff like infra or safety as all that feels like a dream away.
Moreover, our minds are conditioned to feel scarcity at every step.
Think about it,
- You're competing for limited spots at university, then limited seats at a job
- You're settling for low salaries because a million people are more than happy to work for 50% of your income
- The sheer population size of over a billion makes resources scarce, and you're always fighting to access them.
So when a Western person tells you stuff like - "Abundance mindset is the key to success" - You call BS on it.
Except that... it is the 🔑
Truth is, most of us are cushioning ourselves in excuses, just like my cousin.
The hardest person to face is yourself.
It's easier to blame others for our mistakes. Think of the time you got in a fight with your partner and blamed them, only to later realise it was your mistake. Some of you make up, and some of you choose to satisfy your ego instead.
But it doesn't come immediately to your mind, right?
Because it's so hard to blame yourself for your own actions. It's difficult to look in the mirror and say,
I've been helping people write online for 4 years now, and the three kinds of people I see are:
- Those who are ready to change their mindset and take accountability regardless of their circumstances. Because if they don't, they'll be as mediocre as their environment.
- Those who would keep blaming others.
- Those who want to be the first kind but doubt themselves.
The first and last kind eventually get on the path to change their life. The second stay where they are.
All of us have been the second kind.
Some of you still might be there.
So I told my cousin,
"You can either keep blaming this person, who actually isn't at fault here. Or take accountability for your actions. You didn't study because you were too lazy. This person has nothing to do with it."
To which is surprisingly replied,
May I please also mention that him saying this is an extremely rare occasion 🤣
I advised him,
"I feel you. Taking accountability is hard, which is why most people around us blame other factors instead of taking responsibility. And that gets them nowhere. So change that for yourself."
I do think it was too late for him to ace the exam he didn't study for, but I hope he keeps it in mind for next time.
I want you to know that no matter who you are and where you're from,
- Stop blaming others for everything
- You literally have one shot at living
- What you do with it is in your hands
Now you can either think of a few excuses and tell me why it's the exact opposite, or you can take charge.
Because nobody is coming to save you.
Except you.
See you next week!
Love,
N