Should you give up?

Have you ever been working on a project when things weren’t going your way and you were seriously considering giving up? Maybe you thought, “The time must not be right for this.” Or, “I should have known I couldn’t do this. What was I thinking?” Or even, “This is too difficult. I’m giving up and moving on.”

It’s safe to say we’ve all thought about giving up at different times in our lives. Maybe we have given up. This article is for those who are still in the process of deciding whether or not to continue with a particular project.

First, realize you can always give up. It isn’t always possible to start something over once you stop. Make this decision carefully. Sometimes giving up is the right thing to do. Sometimes we’ve learned all there is to learn from a situation, process, or relationship. Sometimes what we’re doing is a stepping-stone and it is time to take the next step.

If you’re not convinced you should give up, consider these ideas.

Declare you are starting over. We can begin a new day at any time. You don’t even have to wait for tomorrow morning. Sometimes just declaring a new beginning, shutting the door behind us firmly, is enough to kick start us. Of course, you aren’t really starting over. You are continuing on from where you are right now and haven’t lost any ground.

Get guidance before making a decision. Tall to someone with experience in the area you’re focused on. And be sure the person has no interest in the outcome of your project. It is best to hire a professional consultant or mentor for this because they can apply their wisdom from working with many people or businesses while remaining unattached to the results of your decision.

The journey is more important than the results. Maybe whatever you’re doing is all about the journey. Maybe you aren’t meant to succeed or fail. Perhaps this is just an experience that is supposed to teach you something. Maybe this is a steppingstone to something and by being too attached to specific results you will get in the way of your own larger success. Remember what the Bhagavad Gita says: “Abandon all attachment to the results of action and attain supreme peace.”

Have a talk with yourself! Pretend it is a year from now, or five years from now. Talk to your future self, the one who made the right decision and who can give you guidance about the result if you continue or if you stop now. Get perspective from the long-term vision.

Let go of your story. Whether you decide to stop or to continue, let go of the indecisiveness as soon as you can. Close the door on the experience. Begin a new chapter in your life. Heck, maybe begin a new book!

Do you have a plan and are you using your tools? Unfortunately, many people I speak with don’t believe in planning and they don’t use the tools they have. Just because we’re approaching our lives from a spiritual basis doesn’t mean we don’t plan, use our intellects, and apply the many wonderful tools we have at our disposal.       

It ‘s very challenging to go from Seattle to Miami if we just hop in our car and start driving. We need to look at a map, decide the best route to take, and be sure we have enough gas and other provisions for the journey. Whatever project you’re involved in deserves your best efforts before deciding to abandon hope of accomplishing your dreams!

Welcome challenges and obstructions! Yes, what you resist persists. By welcoming challenges you remove some of the sting they carry. Challenges are meant to make us stronger. I like to use the analogy of someone who’s doing sports training. As they become proficient at running a mile, let’s say, they don’t stop there. Once they are comfortable running a mile, they increase the distance or decrease the time. They continue making it more and more difficult on themselves to make themselves stronger.

The Olympic-winning speed skater Apollo Ono showed a training video of himself. He attached weights to his legs. He would drag these around behind him and continued making them heavier in order to make his legs stronger.

So with us, instead of thinking we will have it made someday and all our troubles will be over, think about how your higher self, soul-self, adds challenges to your life in order to make you stronger for an even bigger project than the one you’re working on now. Just think, maybe your current situation is the training ground for something much bigger and your job is to master this level so you can do even more.

If you believe in what you’re doing, don’t ever give up. Don’t even think about giving up. Don’t waste your precious time and energy that way. Instead, continue focusing on the end result, trust in your inner guidance, be determined, and do everything in your power to allow your dream to unfold in whatever way is for the highest and best of everyone concerned.

There’s a 20-minute MP3 audio where I lead the listener through the process of breaking through an obstacle. Visit anoasisforyoursoul.com to view this and other guided meditative journeys.

Living in grace and ease,

Krysta