In the Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz, he mentions this term called "excusitis," or the failure disease. He states that many people have this syndrome wherein they make a good excuse to get away from certain things in their lives by explaining to themselves and to other people why they are not progressing. These mediocre people often use a sort of alibi to lag behind. They undergo a mental process wherein they think about: "I am not performing well as I should. What alibi can I use which can help me save my face from this humiliation?"

When I started reading this in my Quiet Time, I have learned that I have had excusitis. Actually, I think everyone of us had it once in our lives. When we were young, we tend to think that because of our disabilities,we cannot perform well in school. We tend to think that because of our ages, we cannot get the jobs that we want. And sometimes we tend to think that because of the lack of money, we cannot go to college, travel abroad, or even achieve our little dreams in life.

I believe that even the successful people actually did have excusitis too. But they were strong enough to go beyond that fear of disgrace and prove to themselves and to others that: "I can finish my education;" "I am not too young to become a president;" "I can travel the world;" "I am called for this purpose."

If ever you have suffered from this failure disease, let me encourage you that the treatment is very simple. You merely have to obey what God wants you to do. He won't give you any circumstance if He does not know that you can conquer it. You just have to be bold, be brave, to obey his commands and put it all to practice. I'm not going to say it is easy, it may be hard, but obeying God is always worth it in the end.

Remember: Excusitis is a disease. You can still do something to cure it.

"And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands." 2 John 1:6

Ricardo G. Sigua © 2010