An excuse is worse than a lie, for an excuse is a lie, guarded. ~Alexander Pope

This quote reminded my of a time 24 years ago when I was a learning how to be a US Army Ranger.  In the Rangers  we were taught that there was little tolerance for failure and even less for making excuses for it.  The proper response to any question about why something wasn’t done or wasn’t done to standard was simply.   “No excuse” or “No excuse Sir!”

The sooner we can stop making excuses we can start making a difference.

Kirk Out

“I wish I were as enthusiastic as you.” said the young man.  Or should I say “said the ignorant young man.”  Ignorance is not a bad thing, because with just a little information and a little bit of effort, it can be overcome. 

I have always believed the saying that “Enthusiasm is contagious.”  But it wasn’t until I was in my 30’s that I began to wonder why it was.   We’ve all had the experience of walking away from others with more or less energy than we walked up with.  WHY?  How do they do that?  Can we do it too? 

 Enthusiasm is not an accidental gift of the Gods, it is a choice, it is an obtainable attribute that can be strengthened through exercise and discipline, like any other attribute.  I believe we can all make enthusiasm a deliberate part of our personality…and we can start by knowing what it means.  I started by defining it - at  http://www.dictionary.com/

en·thu·si·asm Pronunciation Key ( n-th z - z m)n. 1.Great excitement for or interest in a subject or cause. 2.A source or cause of great excitement or interest. 3.Archaic. a.Ecstasy arising from supposed possession by a god. b.Religious fanaticism. [Late Latin enth siasmus, from Greek enthousiasmos, from enthousiazein, to be inspired by a god, from entheos, possessed : en-, in; see en-2 + theos, god; see dh s- in Indo-European Roots.] (so I guess we could say “Get Possessed!”)

Word History: Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm, said the very quotable Ralph Waldo Emerson, who also said, Everywhere the history of religion betrays a tendency to enthusiasm. These two uses of the word enthusiasm one positive and one negative both derive from its source in Greek. Enthusiasm first appeared in English in 1603 with the meaning possession by a god. The source of the word is the Greek enthousiasmos, which ultimately comes from the adjective entheos, having the god within, formed from en, in, within, and theos, god. Over time the meaning of enthusiasm became extended to rapturous inspiration like that caused by a god to an overly confident or delusory belief that one is inspired by God, to ill-regulated religious fervor, religious extremism, and eventually to the familiar sense craze, excitement, strong liking for something. Now one can have an enthusiasm for almost anything, from water skiing to fast food, without religion entering into it at all.

enthusiasm(2)
En*thu”si*asm, n. [Gr. ?, fr. ? to be inspired or possessed by the god, fr. ?, ?, inspired: cf. enthousiasme. See Entheal, Theism.] 1. Inspiration as if by a divine or superhuman power; ecstasy; hence, a conceit of divine possession and revelation, or of being directly subject to some divine impulse.

2. A state of impassioned emotion; transport; elevation of fancy; exaltation of soul; as, the poetry of enthusiasm.

Resolutions adopted in enthusiasm are often repented of when excitement has been succeeded by the wearing duties of hard everyday routine. –Froude.

3. Enkindled and kindling fervor of soul; strong excitement of feeling on behalf of a cause or a subject; ardent and imaginative zeal or interest; as, he engaged in his profession with enthusiasm.

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. –Emerson.

4. Lively manifestation of joy or zeal.

Let us be or get possessed by a spirit of enthusiasm…so that when people walk away from any interaction with us…with a little bit more of the good stuff!

Kirk Out