The Top Ten Strategies to Employ When You Feel Like Quitting

The Top Ten Strategies to Employ When You Feel Like Quitting

Ever feel like quitting?  "Are you kidding?" you ask, "A better question would be, 'How many times TODAY have I felt like quitting?' "  Sure.  We've all felt like "throwing in the towel" at one time or another.  If you haven't, I suggest that you check your pulse quickly.  And here's a real shocker for you: the notion that "winners never quit" is a crock!  Everyone - even "winners"- has not only felt like it, but has even quit at one time or another.

The "road of life" that we each travel isn't one endless stretch of flat, paved expressway, but rather, is filled with curves, crests, valleys, detours, potholes and bumps.  It is its very unpredictability that makes it so interesting and alluring. We just have to see what's around the next curve.  It's that same unpredictability that makes for some real gut-tightening questions and fears as well.

Having said that, I do feel that we, too often, give up on our dreams too easily and quickly - perhaps, just one small step short of success.  So what do you do when the going gets tough and you feel like quitting?  Here are ten strategies that you can employ when you hit those apparent "roadblocks" on your road of life:

• •Remember the reason(s) you started in the first place.  What was the "spark" that caused you to begin the journey?  Revisiting that may help rekindle the flame that helps you go on.
• •Ask yourself, "What would I rather be doing?"  If nothing compelling comes to mind, then determine the next step you need to take to move you closer to your original destination.  If something more compelling does come to mind, maybe you need to quit.
• •List 10 reasons why you CAN keep going.  What strengths and resources do you possess that will help you achieve your desired outcome?  Just the very act of doing this shifts your focus from the problem to the solution.
• •Give yourself permission to quit.  Sounds crazy, but it works.  When you set up an internal law that says, "I can't quit." Or "I shouldn't quit", it makes the desire to quit even stronger.
• •Give yourself a need to continue.  Rather than focus on why you feel you need to quit, focus on why you need to continue.  What's the payoff, the reward waiting for you if you persevere?
• •Stop focusing on the struggle and start focusing on the solution.  Whatever you focus on expands.  If your focus is on the struggle you are experiencing, that becomes the biggest (and maybe even the ONLY) thing on your "horizon" It blocks out many, if not all, of the creative opportunities and solutions that may be trying to present themselves to you.
• •Take a hard look at your methodology.  Tired of getting poor or less than optimum results from your efforts?  Then why keep doing things the same way an expecting something different to happen?  That's the classic definition of insanity!  Ask yourself, "What's the most radical or unorthodox action I could take right now?"  Try it.
• •Make a contract with yourself.  Write out what you intend to accomplish and how you intend to accomplish it and then give yourself, say, six months to achieve your goal.  Sign and date it and keep it where you can see it.  You might even impose some kind of "penalty" for breaking the contract - no chocolate for a month, maybe.
• •Get real.  Were you enticed by the "illusion" that success is easy?  Maybe you were enamored by the "fluff" that if you just want something badly enough, it will find its way to your doorstep.  Success is WORK.  Pure and simple.  It is the result of a certain mindset as well as a set of deliberate actions.  If you want to quit something, then quit fooling yourself by thinking it's going to be a "piece of cake".
• •Walk away.  Sometimes looking at something too hard or long obscures the solutions.  It's the "can't see the forest for the trees" phenomenon.  By simply walking away or taking a break from the struggle to solve, you often free your mind to see new options and opportunities.

Monty J. Sharp is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst, self-proclaimed Relentless Architect of Human Possibilities" and co-founder of Vision to Venture, LLC, an executive coaching company dedicated to providing an interpersonal approach to high performance executives, managers, individuals and work teams: Visit him on the web at http://www.VisionToVenture.com or via e-mail at monty@VisionToVenture.com .

RELATED ARTICLES The Conversation of Recovery - Part One Transformational Counseling is all about assisting another human being to live a life that they love and to live it powerfully. Transformational Counseling is about creating a space for others to learn how to transform their lives, to live a life differently from how it was in the past, to truly create what they desire. Transformational Counseling is about assisting others in their getting and utilizing a powerful technology that will enable them to make a true difference in their life and in the lives of others. Transformational Counseling is about assisting another to become present to how they have stopped themselves in their life and in the process transform their way of being in the world. While comprised of a variety of distinctions that are important for understanding the process of transformation, the utilization of Transformational Counseling has five interrelated components that are crucial to its successful use with others and even with oneself. Getting What You Really Want Everyone wants something in life, love, money, success, recognition ... Yet too many people fail to realize their desires, and nearly all of them for the same reason.  They seem to go whichever way the wheel turns, as if they have no control over their situation.  If their vehicle takes them to places they never intended to be, or crashes into the brickwall of utter despair, that's just the cruelty of fate. Three Simple Ways to Motivate Yourself Today! Are you having a hard time getting things done? Are you making no steps toward achieving your goals and dreams? Could you use a little "motivation"? Motivation: No Finish LInes There is a saying that goes something like "getting to the top is easy, the hard thing is staying there once you get there." Dont Get Hysterical About The Historical The tension was palpable in the room as I began the first marital counseling session ever for the couple who had passed their 50th anniversary several years before. After a few pleasantries designed to put them more at ease, I invited, "Tell me about what brought you here." 12 Powerful Motivational Tools That Guarantee Success No matter how many years you spend in a classroom or from what social class or lifestyle, motivation is the common factor among those who are high achievers. Entrepreneurs: Take Action Over Inspiration Every Time! "Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory!" General George S. Patton Keeping Your Eyes Wide Open: A Letter to a Grandson One day, a young man was cleaning out his late grandfather's belongings when he came across a bright red envelope. Written on the front were the words, "To my grandson." Recognizing his grandfather's writing, the boy opened the envelope. A letter inside read:

Dear Grandson, Wealth Building: Let The Wealth Building Secrets Of J. Paul Getty Inspire You To Great Achievement One of the shortcuts to creating wealth is to learn from those who have achieved great wealth. Self Confidence: How To Build Your Confidence In Three Simple Steps To Feel Confident ? A C T Keep Motivated To Succeed Online! Starting and managing a business takes motivation and talent. It also takes research and planning. Although initial mistakes are not always fatal, it takes extra skill, discipline, and hard work to regain the advantage. Take time beforehand to explore and evaluate your business and personal goals, then use this information to build a comprehensive and thoughtful business plan that will help you reach these goals. Stop Squeaking! Align Yourself for Business Success! Even for a remarkable business owner like you, from time to time, you may still loose motivation in continuing the expansion of a service or product line. At time, you may seem to have a hard time figuring out why this once fantastic business that got you so excited every morning is making you feel like a heavy weight now. Achieving Your Dreams While most people spend most of their lives struggling to earn a living, a much smaller number seem to have everything going their way. Instead of just earning a living, the smaller group is busily working at building and enjoying a fortune. Everything just seems to work out for them. And here sits the much larger group, wondering how life can be so unfair, so complicated and unjust. What's the major difference between the little group with so much and the larger group with so little? Overcoming the Fear of Getting Started Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. -- Dale Carnegie Awaken The Sleeping Attitude Within You! I have made the statement numerous times that; "You are the most important living person." Take some time and think about yourself. Look at yourself in the mirror and see how long you can stare without walking away. If less than five minutes, then you need an attitude adjustment. By Planning and Exerting Effort, You Can Change Things For The Better Most of us plan to find the love of our life, our soul mate. It is a natural human instinct to find a partner. Someone who we can grow and expand with, someone we can have a family with, someone we can spend the rest of our life with. Can You Can Can? What You Can Do If You Really Go For It One hundred years ago the laundry girls of Montmartre invented a street dance which became known as the Can Can. Some dancers love it and some hate it. The audiences, especially the men, love it. Get Up and Do! The motivation to change my oil came the other day when I turned the key in my car's ignition. It coughed wearily, and there was an ominous clicking sound where the engine should have chimed in. Then there was a brief flashing of several lights on the dash. One of them was the oil light, and I sat behind the wheel for a minute, realizing that even if I had extra motor oil on hand, I've no idea where it goes. Explanations?... or Excuses? Which of the following "explanations" have you heard (or used!) in the past few weeks? Self-Motivation for Trainers THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SELF-MOTIVATION FOR TRAINERS: Lack of self-motivation is an unfortunate side effect of our accelerated times. Many people today are cynical and disillusioned or feel that to appear sophisticated, they must become so. They find it difficult to muster a feeling of energetic conviction toward any subject. In training, however, it is crucial to success to possess self-motivation when making presentations. Knowing this, however does not do much for the trainer who lacks inner direction. Achieving a full understanding of the anatomy of self-motivation and mastering ways of obtaining it can lead to vast improvement in training presentations.