How many times have you decided upon something and then just given up?
How many times have you tried something and you quit as soon as it became hard?
How many times have you postponed taking action till later, because you did not feel like doing it right away?
The simple and sad fact is that most of us give up far too soon!
Imagine if Steve Jobs had given up at Apple! He faced so many challenges and yet he never gave up.
The rest is history – he went on to become one of the world’s greatest winners of all time.
So why do most people give up so easily?
Below are the top 10 reasons why losers give up too soon – and more importantly, key ways of getting around this:-
1. ”You Can’t Do It!”
At some point someone told you that. And you believed them…
Next time you hear those words, recall all those who heard the same words many times – but have succeeded against all odds.
Read the biographies of Michael Jordan, Steve Jobs and Ray Charles. They have all proved that discouraging words have no power.
2. Your Life is Already Good Enough
It may sound weird, but the better your life is more is the temptation to leave things as they are. That is why as soon as things get hard, many tend to give up and go back to how things were.
No matter how good your life currently is –it can still get better. So next time you feel like giving up, think about those aspects of your life you do not like and concentrate on improving them.
3. You Lack Self-Confidence
Many big and positive changes need self-belief. . Any self-doubts about your capability to succeed will make you want to give up.
There is a simple tip I usually use, when my self-confidence needs a boost. I calm down and get centered. Then I take a piece of paper and list all my skills, knowledge, experiences and other assets.
Everyone can make a long and comprehensive list. You can too!
4. You Lack Focus
There are so many distractions these days to stop you from focussing on the key things!
Every time you decide to write something you have Twitter, Facebook and email notifications stealing your attention.
Every time you decide to spend time with your friends, you have your boss calling with a job-related issue. Not keeping the focus on your goals leads to ineffective efforts – this ultimately makes you disappointed and inclined to give up.
Next time you need to stay focused, switch off your TV, log off social media sites and blogs and turn off your smartphone. Instead, create time.
Imagine you are on a very important business meeting at the office and you simply cannot be available to anyone before the meeting is over.
The meeting will only be over when you have completed what you were supposed to do!
5. You Don’t See Immediate Results
Everyone wants it all and wants it now. But anything worthwhile creating, takes time, and each fruit needs time to ripen.
Simply remember that the more you work towards your goals, the sooner you will reach them.
So keep going – just remember to climb the summit again and again.
6. You Lack Motivation, Enthusiasm and Inspiration
When you first began your project/changes/initiative you were probably full of enthusiasm, you felt motivated and encouraged.
Then things started slowing down, you realized that it wasn’t that easy and the enthusiasm started cooling down, the inspiration burning down and you just let things go.
Just go back to the beginning and remember your initial thoughts and ideas. Recall what was motivating and inspiring you about the project and concentrate on those aspects.
Follow your intuition to get inspired again.
7. It’s Not Your Dream!
Maybe your initial idea was just a temporary wish, which at some point you realized was not worth the time, the effort and the sacrifices.
Periodically evaluate your dreams and make sure that they are still valid.
If they are no longer valid, then you have not given up. You have simply realized that you were headed in the wrong direction. If need be, redefine what success means to you.
Revisit your ideas and get back on track with what truly excites you.
Remember – you were born to win!
8. You Miss Your Comfort Zone
Before you got involved in this project, even if things may not have been perfect, you were used to them. It was predictable, comfortable and easy. And now in this stage of uncertainty and struggle, you miss your comfort zone.
Next time you have the temptation to turn back and return to your comfort zone, simply remember that once you have reached where you want to be, you will create a new comfort zone for you – and then keeping going onwards and upwards.
9. People Think it’s a Stupid Idea!
They think you are too old to start something new, they think that following your dream concept is not realistic, and they think it’s not serious and you should stop being childish.
What people think is not your business – It is better to anticipate what they will think when you will get there!
10. You Think It Should Be Easy!
Everyone likes the easy way out and giving up is the easiest thing you can do. No more effort and time is required. So you just give up and the problems related to that go away.
So what do you do instead?
Next time you start something, please don’t listen to the negative feedback of people around you – instead talk to all those who encourage you and are interested in you succeeding.
Be confident and believe in yourself, because you can do it!
Giving up is for losers – and since you are reading this blog post, you are clearly not a loser!
Next time you start something, make sure you really want it bad enough. Make sure it’s your dream and your passion.
If it is – then your motivation, enthusiasm and inspiration will stay with you along the way.
If it is – then you will be patient enough and will not be discouraged by the lack of immediate results.
And if your passion is strong enough, you will never ever look for the easy way out!
This is a superb guest post from my friend Ani Chibukhchyan who lives in Armenia. At present she is in the transitional period of transforming her writing from hobby to career. She is an online freelance writer and blogger – check her out and download her FREE book.
Hi Ani and Arvind,
I’m in the process of “listening” to the book, Steve Jobs and I do find it fascinating. You are correct, he overcame tremendous odds to bring Apple to where it is today. One thing I’ve learned from the book is that your goals should not be about making money. His focus was to make amazing products. That came first. I do believe there is a great lesson there. I would also add to just not stop. We all have our ups and downs, but it’s those people who just keep going who eventually succeed. Thanks for a great post!
Thanx for the comment Cathy!
It seems that when you do not have making mones as your goal eventually you do make money 🙂
Steve Jobs always believed in his goals and had VERY strong personality. And yes, he never stopped!
I love your post.
I love the way you position how saying “no” to one thing is saying “yes” to something else. For me, the power of saying “no” kicks in when I say “no” to the 10 kinds of defeating self talk that you describe so well and simply saying “yes” to it’s opposite. Excellent. Keep shining your light !!
Thanks for your warm words Christopher!
I think everything has two sides and concentreting on the positive side always make things better.
Super post. I absolutely agree…we can’t follow someone else’s desires…they must be what we truly want. Everyone wants to be happy, healthy and probably wealthy, but we need to fall in love with our desire, or as you put it so well have it as your passion in order for us to enjoy the fruit.
Elle
xoxo
Thanx Elle.
I think that people who follow some else’s desires can not be happy. They need to find out what they really want, although that is not always easy.
Hi Ani! Great post!! I especially like #7, “It’s Not Your Dream” . . . a good reminder to frequently re-evaluate our goals to see if our work is heading in the right direction.
Linda,
Number 7 came from my personal experience. I got my ”dream job” which later became my enemy 🙂
#4 and #5 have definitely been challenges for me.. It’s so easy to get distracted with so many things wanting your attention, but like you said, you just have to get rid of the distractions and get down to business. Lately, I’ve been tuning out more (less twitter, facebook, less tabs open at once), and I feel WAY better and a lot more focused! This was a great motivator, thanks Ani!
Hi Kaylee 🙂
yesterday I decided that I will not switch on anything before 4pm and that day I wrote more than I had done in the previous week with the distractions on. So it definitely works 🙂
This is a great post – I think we are all guilty of succumbing to all of these reasons. #7 really resonates with me. Until a few months ago, I was living life on auto-pilot. I had dreams, but they were born from the desires of my parents and society.
It’s good to have dreams of your own for once. Their motivating power is second only to social pressure 😉
Hey there Amit,
We all have been guilty in following dreams, which were imposed on us by parents and the society.
I wish your own dream comes true. Simply don’t give up!
All true points, Ani. I think for most people, more than one applies at most times. It’s just a question of how we get past them.
Thank you Dolly!
It is not always easy to get past all the points, but it is possible and and all will happen if we keep in mind that the result is worth the effort.
Terrific tips, Ani, thanks!
Thanks for reading and commenting Bobbi!
Very well said, Ani. Like it or not, we do tend to hesitate when that extra mile has to be walked, and strangely, in certain situations that really matter to us. I think we do get dragged down by the daily rush – and it seems to tiring to go after that dream. I’ve found that a few activities help overcome this to a large extent: Waking up early, meditation to calm the mind and maintaining a gratitude journal are just three things I do on a daily basis. I am a big believer of “little things making a big difference” 😀 So I see joy in everything around me. But yes, there are days when I become mentally tired.
Thanks for the great read, Ani. Thank you, Arvind.
Thanks for the valuable insight Vidya Sury!
The things you do are extremely important and valuable. I am sure they help you not be dragged back by the daily rush and keep going on.
Hey Ani,
This post had almost a literary, poetic feel to it. I really feel your writing when you use repetition in sentences like “If it is – then…”. I’m not one short on confidence or passion these days, but, even people who don’t struggle with having these can learn something from this excellent post.
Hi Joel!
I am glad that your confidence and passion are on a good level these days 🙂
hoops! I meant theSe days Joel.
Ani….what a magnificent post. You hit on critical points about what stops us from succeeding. I saw pieces of myself in several of them that I have been working on and continue to do so.
This post should be sent to every school from elementary on…if kids learned this and were surrounded by people who helped them believe it, WOW….can you imagine what our would would be like? Fran
Nice to ”meet” you Fran!
Thank you for the warm warm words. Being useful to readers was one of my main goals 🙂
Oh I like this!
My favorite analogy for giving up vs. not giving up comes from working on my car.
When I’m working to remove a particularly difficult bolt or something just isn’t quite going on or coming off how it needs to… I just HAVE to keep going, because that next turn of the wrench could be when it comes lose. There could be no sign of progress at all, and then suddenly… the bolt comes lose out of seemly nowhere.
Working on my car has also requires great creativity in achieving a goal. Sometimes one tool will not do what you want it to, so another must be tried, or you must use that tool in a different manner. In other words, try different methods to reach your goal, but don’t give up.
I do my best to apply this attitude towards my life as a whole…. easier said than done, but very possible.
Tathata,
Realy interesting analogy. Never thought about working on a car in such manner!
Keep removing difficult bolts, on the car and in your life 🙂
Great guest post, Ani! Your tips are really wonderful and very timely as my husband and I are starting a new venture. I’m looking forward to checking out your website, too!
Thank you Betsy. Will be happy to find you as a reader 🙂
And success with your new venture!
People prefer to take the short cut way and they give up on the long cut way to achieving their good.
Your post applies to everyone do not want to go out of their comfort zone and try something new to their lives and they are satisfied on what they have.
It was amazing how Steve Jobs defeated the problems he faced during the development of Apple and now, he’s one legend on technology.
Matt – I agree.
Maybe that’s how things are supposed to be? It would be unfair if people, who do not want to go out of their comfort zone achieved the success Steve Jobs had…
Hi Ani I loved you post! I love the way the right article turns up at the right time! Just when my confidence and self belief was starting to wane, your words were there to pick me up. Thanks for the motivational boost – believe in yourself!
Ciara,
I am really glad you came upon this article at the right time. Hopefully your confidence and self-belief is back!
Amazing article…put in a simple and great way….came across it at the right time
Noor – welcome to my blog:-)
I am glad this article came to you at the right time.
Here’s an related article which will also interest you:-
https://www.arvinddevalia.com/born-to-win/
Hey Thanks For Nice Article Soon Adopt This Steps ..Keep Ging