My inspiration has been missing, my views have been down, my time has been spent on university assignments, and honestly, I’ve thought about giving up on my writing entirely.
But the thing I’ve discovered is you should never give up on the things you care most about.
Here are 5 reasons why:
1. You Either Live the Life You Want or Live with Excuses as to Why You Never Got it
“I suggest that you become obsessed about the things you want; otherwise, you are going to spend a lifetime being obsessed with making up excuses as to why you didn’t get the life you wanted.” -Grant Cardone
The reasons for my absence of writing listed above are nothing but excuses, and sadly, this is how many people live their lives.
They say they could write a bestselling book, amass millions of subscribers on YouTube, or even make a platinum-selling album.
But often, these books go unwritten, the channels are never started, and the songs are left unsung.
The reason is put perfectly by Robert Kiyosaki in his book, Rich Dad Poor Dad,
“For many people, the power of their excuse is more powerful than their dreams.”
You can come up with all the excuses in the world about why you haven’t got the time to write, sing or dance. But sooner or later you’re going to find yourself living a life of excuses, rather than the one you want.
2. Quitting Might Feel Alright in the Moment, but it Will Suck Tomorrow
“When you come to a point when you have to make a key decision, remember how that choice will make you feel tomorrow, and the tomorrow after that, and the one after that.” -Jesse Itzler
If I quit writing today it might feel liberating in the moment, I might go outside and enjoy the sun rather than sit at my desk tapping away the keyboard.
But I can tell you it won’t feel good tomorrow, the tomorrow after that, or even in 10 years from now.
Not doing the things you care most about always leads to regret.
Having to live with the question of “what if?” and always wondering what you could have become hurts much more than persisting when everything else is telling you to quit.
As Jim Rohn once said,
“Potential underutilized leads to pain.”
3. When Everyone Else Wants to Quit is Never the Time You Want to Quit
“Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” -Warren Buffett
A lot of people have been upset about Medium lately. They’ve complained about the algorithm, shipped off the last of their articles, packed up their keyboards and left.
Many might believe they should go with them. Some of these individuals have very convincing arguments, but I’ll tell you this is a loser’s mentality.
My friend, Tom Kuegler recently said, “Now Is Actually The Best Time To Become A Blogger.”
And he’s absolutely right. When everyone else wants to quit, is never the time you want to quit. When everyone else is in contraction is the time you want to be in expansion.
If you really want to win the race, you don’t quit when everyone quits, you keep going and blow right past the competition. This is how you get ahead, and this is how you win.
“You never want to blindly follow the masses; they are almost always wrong.” -Grant Cardone
4. What You Accomplish Will Be Worth the Pain
“If what you are trying to achieve in life is not worth the pain, then it’s a lousy goal in the first place.” -Tim Denning
In his book, Living with the Monks, Jesse Itzler shares a piece of advice that helped him keep going at the 76th mile of his first ultramarathon:
“The pain will last a week, but you’ll have the memory forever.”
Too often we get caught up present moment. We want things to be easy. We want the rewards right now. But here’s something to remember:
Whatever you’re doing is only temporary. While it might suck in the present moment, what you accomplish will be worth the pain and provide you with a lasting memory to cherish forever.
5. You’re Actually Closer to Your Goal than You Imagine
“Most people knock on the door of their dreams once, then run away before anyone has a chance to the open the door. But if you keep knocking, persistently and endlessly, eventually the door will open.” -Les Brown
The thing about life is you never what’s right around the corner. You don’t know what the future the holds, and if you did — it would probably be boring.
What this means, is you very well could be one blog post, email, or interaction away from getting hugely closer to where you want to be.
When you approach everything you do with this optimism, rather than pessimism, you’ll discover that every action you take towards the things you care most about is another knock on the door of your dreams, and you might just be one knock away from getting an answer.