Some of the best advice I have ever heard on quitting came from a highly successful, world-renowned gymnast, Nastia Liuken, who’s advice to all young people is:
“Think Bigger. Work Harder.”
A really great idea she was raised with was this: BEFORE you quit anything, especially after a bad day, keep going until you have a GOOD day. THEN, and only then, give yourself the permission to quit that thing, if you still want to.
This was a rule her mother required of her. When Nastia would have an especially grueling, difficult, disappointing day, she would come home exhausted, frustrated, and angry, and tell her mother she wanted to quit gymnastics. Her mother would tell her that any day of her life she would let her quit, except for that day. Then she would repeat this request:
“Before you quit, you must keep going-just until you have one more good day. If you still feel like quitting at that point, I will let you quit.” She had many of those especially grueling, difficult, disappointing days, but she never did quit. This rule her mother came up with was a helpful tool which aided her in her successes and accomplishments. It helped her keep going and kept quitting in perspective.
Reminder to self: Be engaged in the relentless pursuit of Personal Development! If you decide that quitting something is absolutely necessary, don’t do it out of hopelessness, frustration, anger, fear, exhaustion or resentment. Wait until you are having a GOOD day, and if you still feel the desire to quit, do it with the knowledge that it is because you are advancing in another direction, and the thing you are quitting isn’t in alignment with what you want to accomplish.
DO NOT MAKE A PERMANENT DECISION BASED UPON A TEMPORARY EMOTION.
Today I will decide to keep doing the difficult, challenging, hard things until the day I enjoy them and see the benefit that comes from doing them. If I still want to stop doing what I am doing at that point, I will think about course-correcting, and advancing in another direction. I am relentless.
The interview on Impact Theory, which contains the incredible story of Nastia Liuken, can be seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlOPYiaYdng&t=1s
Something helpful I love to listen to often:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoRXw7Tzv5I
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Remember: Mindset matters. Character counts. That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives. WE CREATE our personal realities.