I’ve written often on this subject because I feel strongly about the lasting negative effects that quitting has on the lives of those who quit. It’s silly to quit early in the game and it’s even sillier to quit late in the game. When children learn to quit early on in their lives, it becomes a behavioral response to any difficult situation later on. Becoming an habitual quitter is like setting fire to one’s potential…and, the sad fat is that most people are quitters.
So, what can one do to eliminate or minimize this tendency? Have you ever wondered why some individuals hang on against all odds until they turn defeat into victory while other quit, sometimes in plain sight of the finish line? Is it courage… intestinal fortitude…just the guts to endure, to get off the canvas, and stick to something until it is finished…is it simply in your genes? NO? Then what is the difference between the person who quits and the person who perserveres.
Optimism and goal-setting!
Think back over your life and you will certainly agree that whenever you let negative thoughts permiate your mind and you lost the ability to see good things in your future…you wanted to give up. Negative and backward thinking causes you to loose your desire to keep working on whatever it was you wanted and then, you just wanted to shut it down. Maybe you didn’t call it quitting, but that’s what it was…because the circumstances seemed to justify your decision to give up, you didn’t consider this actually quitting. Oh…but it was. Maybe it was just a small thing, but understand this…the better you get at quitting on small things…soon you’re quitting on big things like your career or your marriage, and the results of quitting on these matters can have a disastrous impact on your life.
So…no matter what… find ways to keep the flames of optimism burning brightly in your soul. Develop the habit of setting meaningful goals in a balanced fashion in your life and that will keep your mental focus future oriented. ~ Mack Newton
