The crosses we bear are not supposed to be excuses

The crosses we bear are not supposed to be excuses

We have the natural tendency to assign blame to external factors. This is understandable because it is discomforting to take the blame when things go wrong. It is easier to fool ourselves with an excuse rather than to take a sober look at ourselves and realize, “maybe I am the problem all along.”

When we are late in physical meetings, we blame the traffic.

When we are late in digital meetings, we blame the internet connections.

When we do not do our tasks well, we blame our poor mental health.

There are times when we have to deal with inconvenient truths as the crosses we have to bear. This requires a critical kind of self-understanding – appropriately attributing to ourselves what is within our control; and recognizing external forces or bad luck but not letting it become a crutch or an excuse that restrains our development.

The crosses we bear are not supposed to be excuses. At the same time, they are not also meant to be a distorted kind of “badge”, like how being a workaholic is being glorified. They are meant to make us pause, reflect, and exercise our creative thinking and feeling to achieve our goals in a way that is unique to us and the cross we carry.

Maybe, in a sense, the way we carry our cross provides a challenge-opportunity for us to become better versions of ourselves.

—
Matthew 10:34-11:1. Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 192: JULY 11, 2022]