Don't Approach Your
Ambitions Half-Heartedly
The late American
minister Norman Vincent Peale summed it up best in his book You Can If
You Think You Can, writing a chapter titled: It's Always Too Early To
Quit. He was making the case for persisting instead of quitting ahead of time.
Although the advice is relevant, it will depend on the circumstances we face.
For example, if you are in a business losing money, it might be wise to quit
and channel your energy into another venture. There are other options which may
require pivoting the business in a different direction but with the same
principles. Think about this in your own life. Are there areas where you want
to give up? It might be related to: a relationship, career, family situation,
education or something else?
Consider what you
aim to achieve by quitting? Do you relieve yourself of the stress and burden
associated with it? A business mentor I worked with some time ago used the
following metaphor to explain our relationship to goals. He would say goals are
like swimming in the open water from one land area to another. During the swim
we will find ourselves at the midway point and far from the finish line. We
cannot see our destination but know it is there. He said there are two options
available to us: continue to swim toward our destination knowing we will
eventually arrive or give up and swim back to our starting point. It is what
many of us experience regularly with our goals. Even if we have not achieved
success, it does not mean we are not making progress.
I've had a personal
ambition to be an internationally acclaimed author and one day write a
best-selling book. Whilst I'm yet to achieve it, I have accomplished other
successes that represent milestones towards my goals. I wrote three books which
were published independently, each of them with forewords written by
internationally acclaimed authors. The point I wish to make is that progress is
progress, no matter how slow we are working towards our goals. Success and
achievement can sometimes fall into our lap when we least expect it. However,
we must be in the arena working consistently and not rest on our laurels. We
cannot approach our ambitions half-heartedly because the universe will deliver
less than desirable outcomes. Consider this in your own life. Are their goals
or projects you've been working on without signs of success? How does this
affect your enthusiasm? Are you still passionate and committed to them?
Light The Fire Of
Passion And Enthusiasm
I don't intend to
explain why quitting is the easy way out because sometimes quitting is the only
way out. It will depend on the circumstances and what we set out to achieve.
Personally, I have a burning desire to promote self-empowerment and help others
awaken their highest potential, through writing and speaking. I am committed to
my dream, irrespective of the obstacles and challenges I face. And yes, there
have been many setbacks over the years. I've come close to quitting and the
only thing that stopped me was a good night's sleep. I've read countless books
on those who endured similar challenges and succeeded. I've also read
biographies of those who persisted and failed. The one true constant I can draw
from my experience is that if you have an itch, you must scratch it until you
are satisfied you have done your best. Until then, keep pursuing your goals
until you realise them or can no longer take the pain.
How are you feeling
about this? Are you getting a sense that your dreams and goals are not something
to be taken lightly but pursued with passion and persistence? I don't know the
answer to whether or not you should quit. In fact, in my coaching sessions, I
often tell clients I can help them push the needle as close to success as
possible, but I cannot guarantee it, since there are many factors outside of
our control. Besides, I wouldn't want to make that promise and I would caution
you to beware of those that do. For example, we cannot control the economy, nor
life's forces acting upon us. We cannot control whether we succumb to illness
or other circumstances that derail our progress. What we can do, is to light
the fire of passion and enthusiasm and make sure we show up to the task at
hand. We can honour our best intentions, irrespective of the outcome. We show
up diligently, knowing what we put our mind and heart to will transpire in the
best way, or at the very least teach us valuable insights.
Quitting early
relieves us of the ability to give ourselves wholeheartedly to our goals and
dreams. It robs us of our fighting spirit because we learn to take the path of
least resistance, instead of the one lined with courage, hope and persistence.
Life is replete with setbacks, challenges and sometimes, suffering and denials.
But this mustn't stop us from pursuing what we are passionate about. Because if
you truly want something, as the Brazilian author Paulo Coelho wrote in The
Alchemist, the entire universe will conspire in helping you to achieve it.
With that in mind, I invite you to consider areas of your life where you want
to quit. How could you reframe your relationship with quitting? How can you
develop greater resiliency and grit? It was Winston Churchill who once said:
"Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your
enthusiasm." Therefore, how can you stay inspired and intentional about
your goals and ambitions? The key to your success lies in your intrinsic
motivation and it is only when you answer that question, will you discover
whether or not it is too early to quit.
