Quitting Is Not an Option

It was difficult growing up in a house where I wasn’t allowed to quit. “Dad, I don’t want to do it anymore!” Dad’s response: “Well, that’s too bad. I didn’t raise you to be a quitter.”

Any time I faced a challenge and things just got too hard, I just wanted to give up. Giving up was much easier than putting the work into it! How true is it for many of us to quit when the going gets tough? We can’t lose the weight quick enough, so we quit that diet. We get involved in a project that becomes too overwhelming and we push it aside. We go out of our comfort zone and try something new, but maybe it’s just too hard. And yes, you’ve got it, we quit before we even give ourselves a chance.

But why? Why do we quit? By giving up all we are doing is short changing our own potential. Maybe it’s because we are afraid to go where we’ve never been. What if I fail? What if I’m bad at it? What if I can’t keep up?

Imagine instead of focusing on the fear that holds us back from achieving greatness, we picture ourselves at the finish line. Envision yourself doing that which scares you and completely shattering your goals with confidence. When I started Karate at the age of 32, I never thought I’d reach black belt. I thought many times throughout my training of giving up when training got too hard, but the others around wouldn’t allow it. Others saw in me what I couldn’t see in myself: potential.

Eventually, I did get through those tough times and soon began to believe what others had been believing of me all along. Yes, I CAN do this. And I did. A famous Erin Hanson quote comes to mind: “There is freedom waiting for you, on the breezes of the sky, and you ask what if I fall? Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?”

Thanks Dad.