THE SOVEREIGN DROP 037 — On Superior Excuses

Not a newsletter, but a ritual. One drop each week. Distilled wisdom for the whole man.

Field Note: On Superior Excuses

I know you liked this title. There's a sick draw to it.

In thousands of observations, here's what I see - high-caliber men and elite performers still struggle with the same things as everyone else, they just cloak it better. (I’m aware that didn’t sit well with you, but hear me out.)

What are most people's excuses? The barriers to accomplishing what they say they want, right?…

Lack of time. Lack of energy. Lack of resources. People and processes as the bottleneck.

Not to rev you up on a weekend — but these are the same reasons you share - why the goal slipped, why the important task didn't get done, why the call didn't get made.

You've probably used them fewer times than average. That's part of why you're where you are. But let's sit with this for a minute. Your excuses are more sophisticated, more credible, more defensible than the commoner's — which is exactly what makes them dangerous. A bad excuse gets caught. A superior one gets believed. (Especially by you.)

So here's the question. What if you stopped accepting your own excuses? Not anyone else's — yours. That would be the game changer.

You can't intend your way into a new identity. The old rhythm will reclaim you every time — unless you build the systems and the structure that make the new identity automatic.

Question

Which of your excuses is the most reasonable?

Integration

Catch one of your credible excuses this week. Build one piece of structure, system, or architecture that makes this excuse impossible. Here’s the key: don’t build resolve around the excuse, build a system or structure around it.

Benediction

You are good at reasons to talk yourself out of your own best life. Knock it off.

I believe in what you are becoming.
— Amy

If you know a man who would benefit from reading this, feel free to forward it to him. One drop each week. Distilled wisdom for the whole man.