How giving up easily is hindering you from achieving your goals
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Do you often look back and find a list of goals and aspirations that have gone unachieved?
You look at the goals you wished you accomplished and can’t help but feel disappointed in yourself yet again.
With each unachieved goal, your confidence in yourself diminishes further. Maybe you lack what it takes you tell yourself, perhaps it just isn’t your luck.
We set goals because there is an outcome that we desire but when that goal is unachieved it can leave us with a feeling of unhappiness and unfulfillment in our lives.
But what if the reason you aren’t achieving your goals is not that you didn’t have what it took or weren’t lucky enough but because you gave up too fast?
What if what you thought was the end of the road was merely a corner and giving up at that moment deprived you of the possibility of what may lie on the other side?
The problem with giving up too easily is that you usually don’t realize you are doing that. You could even feel defensive if someone told you you are giving up too easily because you believe they can’t see the full picture of the effort you have been putting in and you might be right.
It is hard to measure the right amount of effort you should put into something before throwing in the towel.
But I say if you can give something a little bit more effort, if you can try again, if you can persist a little longer, if there is any possibility of holding on a little longer, you should choose that over quitting.
Research that was conducted by psychologist Angela Duckworth found that grit, defined as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals,” was a better predictor of success than talent or intelligence.
In other words, those who stick with their goals and don’t give up easily are more likely to achieve success, even if they are not the most talented or intelligent individuals.
How giving up too easily negatively affects you
1. You miss out on opportunities:
When you ask successful individuals how they got to where they are, you will hear a lot of stories of how many times they tried and failed until they found a new way of doing it or a different opportunity came along.
I have heard stories of so many people, some I know personally who kept applying to Jobs despite receiving so many rejections until they got that one acceptance that changed everything.
I’m not trying to sell you on some kumbaya wishful thinking that is pushed by some self-help gurus but there genuinely are positive learning experiences that come from the rejections we get and not just our successes.
You probably know the popular quote by Wayne Gretzky that says “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” (I’m sure we can trust his words being that he is one of the greatest hockey players to ever exist). I believe that this quote is a gentle reminder that the probability of succeeding is higher if you keep trying than if you quit.
2. You are unable to develop resilience:
Resilience is our ability to bounce back from setbacks and failures which is a super important life skill for success. Resilient people are much better at coping with stress and difficulty.
Giving up too easily rids you of the ability to develop this important life skill that you need because the road to success is filled with a lot of obstacles that you must overcome.
3. You may regret your decision:
Regret is such a heavy burden to carry. It can keep you in a constant state of wondering what could have been. This can be a significant source of frustration and disappointment as you look back and wonder what you could have achieved if you persisted a little longer.
You will feel justified knowing that you did everything that you possibly could in order to achieve your goal even if in the end it doesn’t go according to your plan or wish.
4. You limit your potential:
By persisting in the pursuit of your goals, you may discover strengths and abilities you never knew you had.
If you give up too easily you deprive yourself of the opportunity of discovering talents and abilities that you have that can lead to success.
Tips that can help you overcome the tendency to give up too easily
1. Setting realistic goals:
Setting realistic and achievable goals can help you overcome the unnecessary frustration that comes with setting unattainable goals.
Achieving a realistic goal can give you the motivation to pursue other goals and to keep going when it gets difficult.
2. Break down your goals into smaller milestones:
It can be overwhelming to picture the result when you are just getting started and any delay in achieving your ultimate goal can be a disappointment.
This is why it is important to break down your goal into smaller milestones so you can easily measure your progress and see how far you have come.
The smaller milestones that are easier to manage and complete can be a huge source of motivation to keep going.
3. Focus on the process:
Rather than focusing on the destination alone try to focus your attention on the journey instead.
Instead of only thinking about the goal you want to achieve and the result, consider focusing your attention on the skills you’re developing and the lifestyle changes you are incorporating in the pursuit of your goals.
Make enjoying the process a goal in itself. Put in deliberate efforts to enjoy the process.
4. Surround yourself with supportive people;
Having a good support system can make all the difference when you’re trying to achieve something challenging.
You need to set up a support system of people that believe in you, people that will support and critique you when you need it.
You need these people that will make it a little harder for you to quit.
5. Celebrate small victories:
Sometimes we pay no attention to small wins and little progress because we think they are not significant enough.
Progress will sometimes not feel like progress because the difference between where we were and where we are now is not drastic enough.
Make a conscious effort to celebrate your progress no matter how little.
6. Failure can be a good teacher:
Failure can be an amazing teacher if you allow it. You don’t have to always see failure as a catastrophe, allow it to guide you to better outcomes.
Remind yourself that it isn’t the end of the world if you fail but rather an opportunity to grow and improve. Take this time to reflect on what went wrong and what you can do differently next time.
7. Try to keep going when it gets hard:
If there is something we are guaranteed of is that there will always be difficult times in the journey of life.
Try your very best to keep going. If you are tired, give yourself time to take a break or rest.
Take it one step at a time focusing on the step just in front of you. Persevere just a little more and remember that there is always sunshine after it rains no matter how long the rain lasts.
Ready to smash your goals?
There you have it! You have made it to the end of this post on why giving up easily is hindering you from achieving your goals. I hope reading this post has encouraged you to keep going in the pursuit of your goals and develop some grit in the process.
See you at the top!
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