No one likes to be called a quitter, and it’s pretty easy to not end up with that title, because in truth, very few people actually make enough of a true effort at something to even honestly say that they tried in the first place.
Oh sure, most people make a “token” effort at improving their lives, yet how many people can honestly say that they gave it everything they had before they gave up and moved on to something else?
Our lives are replete with opportunities for us to “rise above,” and to excel in every conceivable manner, yet a lack of immediate gratification tends to knock us flat long before we ever even get up a full head of steam. We never even get the chance to quit trying to attain something because we never completely engaged in the process of making it happen to begin with!
Think about any area of your life where you are wanting to make improvements, and then think about how much of a true effort you are making in that regard. Give no thought to phrases such as “doing the best I can,” or “doing what I can with what I’ve got”. Release your reliance on phrases or concepts like those, as they only serve to give yourself permission to fail based on any given set of circumstance. Think more along the lines of what if your life actually depended on you being successful? Are you trying that hard? Honestly?
What’s your relationship status?
If you aren’t 100% happy with your relationship status, can you honestly say that you have tried every single thing in your arsenal?
- If you’re single, do you act in every way like the type of person that you want to have in your life, or do you wish for that “dream mate,” yet not consistently act in a manner that your dream mate would be attracted to?
- Do you go out of your way on a consistent basis to meet new people, or do you sit around at home thinking that you’ll magically come across that special someone?
- Do you have a winning, confident attitude that will naturally attract prospective mates to you, or do you sit around wallowing in your loneliness?
Even if you have been taking appropriate action in each of those areas, have you been doing so for the entire span of time that you’ve been looking for a new mate, or have you just acted in those ways when it was convenient for you?
- If you’re married or involved in a relationship that needs improvement, do you work on improving that relationship every single day, or do you think that the relationship will just heal itself?
- Do you go out of your way to do the things that will make your significant other happy, even without them doing things for you first?
- Are the needs of your significant other something that you tend to frequently, even if they don’t at first reciprocate those efforts?
Although it is possible that your present relationship will not work out even if you do all of those things, until you make a consistent effort to try, you’ll never know for sure what could have been.
What is your health status?
Are you one of those people who is constantly trying to lose weight or improve your health in some way, yet you keep not achieving your goals? There are very few health and fitness related improvements that can’t be achieved when you truly make a consistent effort, so why is it that you can’t ever seem to get there?
- Do you consistently follow the basic nutritional guidelines that we all know lead to good health, or do you eat in a manner that you know is not going to effectively get you to your goals?
- Is an effective exercise program part of your daily lifestyle, or do you let work, family, or personal obligations keep you from regularly working out?
- Do you seek out the knowledge that you need in order to power a long-term health and fitness plan, or do you hide behind your lack of understanding as an excuse?
In each of those examples, there are ways to succeed, and ways to fail, yet you can’t “quit” the health and fitness scene because it “didn’t work” unless you first make an honest and long-term effort to achieve success in that arena.
What is your financial status?
If you dream of financial freedom or comfort, it will require an on-going effort on your part to provide some sort of value that other people are willing to pay for. What value is it that you are providing that is supposed to ensure your financial abundance?
- If you work for yourself, do you make a daily effort to provide the best possible experience for your customers, including long-term relationship building, or do you just go after quick sales?
- Do you have systems in place for creating new or improved products and services, or do you sit around wondering why you don’t have enough customers?
- If you want to start a business, do you consistently learn about and study business models and opportunities, or do you maintain your status as an underpaid employee because you lack the knowledge to do your own thing?
- If you work for someone else, and you enjoy doing so, are you making continuing efforts to provide more value to your employer, or are you just waiting for your next raise?
- Do you have a long-term plan with that company that includes specific goals, or are you simply doing your job every day, and hoping for the best?
Regardless of what your financial or employment status is right now, there is some way that you can improve those circumstances. However, unless you consistently try to improve, no one else is going to do it for you.
All of the examples given above are meant to illustrate the exact same concept: If you don’t honestly try to improve, and if you don’t make those efforts consistently, and over the long-term, you never really tried at all.
You have nothing to “quit” because the effort needed for you to succeed was never put in place to begin with.
…or you could read this 2500-year old wisdom from Plato over and over until it resonates…
“Moderation, which consists in indifference about little things, and in a prudent and well-proportioned zeal about things of importance, can proceed from nothing but true knowledge, which has its foundation in self-acquaintance.”
Philosopher,
Although I am a BIG supporter of moderation (in fact, I think it is a key to success), the problem is that people use moderation as an excuse to simply not make enough of an effort.
It is far easier to allow your life to get in the way of you improving it than it is to actually jump through any and all hoops in order to ensure success.
I’m usually not big on goal-setting and achievement, but I liked this article. I think we need to set our intentions very firmly and then give them our attention, every single day. This is less about excelling or accomplishing, but about becoming something other than what we are now.
If we give our intentions our attention every day, action will naturally arise.
Blessings,
Andrea
Andrea,
LOVE this:
That is a great quote, and a very simple recipe for success.
As you indicated in your comment – we need to change our habits if you want to change our lives.
So true. So many people after reaching a certain level of financial security just stop trying, thinking this “good times” will last forever. Soon however it turns out that something happened and they need the extra $, or a good deal has passed them by just because they failed to try to use it.
We need to constantly try to better ourselves. If we don’t, we’re nothing.
MWD,
Great point about people being happy with where they are at any moment, yet not preparing for the future. Yes, we should be able to live in the moment, but at the same time, always having something to strive for keeps us motivated and energetic, rather than apathetic which is what happens if we get TOO comfortable.