Comments on: Ever Feel Like Giving Up?

By: David Bonifant

David Bonifant — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 01:12:21 +0000

I have, in the past, (20 years ago) shared your capacity to enjoy long distance running, having completed a couple of marathons on the Gold Coast, Australia. Subsequently, 10 years ago I completed the treacherous war time journey in Papua New Guinea 96kms up and down through 40,000 feet – The Kokoda Track, over 6.5 days. In training, I discovered for both exercises a “state” I describe as my “all day running mode”. That is to say a phenomena that allowed me to put my
“thumb in bum and mind in neutral” (to coin an old army saying) – that comfortable state that allowed me to continue easily without pain or desire to give up. Since I have discovered I can put myself into this mode often when tempted to give in!

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 13:05:09 +0000

First i get mad at myself for making the choices that lead me to a point of giving up lol then i muster the energy to write all the things i think went wrong and put systems in place to make sure they dont happen again, then i freeze a bit and worry im gonna make the wrong choices again lol, then I chill out and stop being so hard on myself lol, remind myself to “take away the filter” and make sure im not missing something im meant to notice, then i re-evaluate, then i try again- and again, and again and again lol…

By: iktomi

iktomi — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:10:34 +0000

there are some things that will not work no matter how much effort you put into it. age comes on you, health, family responsibility, finances, death of a loved one, etc. but usually there is a substitute that works when the original idea doesn’t…it is all a matter of perspective…unless you like to beat yourself up. knowing when to quit and letting go has a lot going for it…peace of mind and souland less turmoil.

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:03:25 +0000

When I feel like “Giving Up” and I do about once a month. I just tell myself to drop what I am doing, step away, and enjoy something in life like a good cup of coffee, watching a movie with my husband, or just something I like on TV. Most of the time, the reason I feel like giving up is because I haven’t taken the time to allow myself to relax. I force myself to give my little mind a break from all the task at hand and all that gets me down. Sometimes I just need a few hours, sometimes a few days, but usually something happens in that time that gets my spirit back up and I get inspired again- like a new blog like this one, or a new client project. I’m easily exciteable, so I can really get revved up again with something simple. I am also working to schedule in some down time this year to help reduce those times of feeling like I want to quit. Quitting really isn’t worth it to me when I think about it. I love my life and would never go back to a 9-5 job! Yuck!

By: Jane

Jane — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 22:19:22 +0000

How do I keep going when I feel like giving up?!? That’s a very good question. I’ve been asking myself a lot lately why I haven’t quit my day job and stay home to spend more time with my 61-yr old mom who is diabetic and on dialysis. Yet, I find myself getting up every single day for this 9-5 job. I should really be grateful.

What keeps me going is allowing myself to stop and wander. Do whatever. No matter where I am– be at work, out in public at a cafe, or at home. It’s like freestyle dancing…I let myself wander around, surf the net while at work, and come across awesome websites like yours. Oftentimes, I find myself jotting notes down like Da Vinci. Whatever comes to mind, I write.

In the end, I think about my bills-mortgage-food-drinks-party-gifts-etcetera. I know time will come when I’ll just call it quits and just live the life I’ve always wanted.

By: Matt Smith

Matt Smith — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:36:11 +0000

When I was in college, I did a final research project. I majored in linguistics, and my project was in a kind of accent training. At some point, I confessed to my advisor, “I don’t think this training is going to work.” And he said, “Oh, I don’t either.” His perspective was, if it fails you learn from the failure.

I remember thinking, if you do research your whole life, then yes, some failures are par for the course. But if you design one accent training and do one experiment on it, you want it to work.

(Eventually I ended up having a stroke of creative brilliance and designing a new training that worked wonders. But that’s beside the point.)

I treat lots of things like that one experiment – where I’ve pinned all my hopes on it, and if it doesn’t work I’m discouraged. I do that even when I’ve got more than one chance to succeed.

I’m trying to relate to things differently. If one blog post doesn’t make me an overnight sensation, or doesn’t go over well at all, then it’s time for the next one. In a couple years, I’ll look back and see some posts that tanked and others that took off. And I’ll have the same perspective my advisor had on research experiments!

By: Cheryl Thompson

Cheryl Thompson — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:23:11 +0000

Just when I feel like giving up (like I did today), I come across a place like your blog that reminds me why I do what I do. Your writing is so right on it makes me cry. Back in 1993, I fired my boss, tripled my income and came home to be a Mom to my kids. I made that my mission (sort of like your World Domination) to bring Moms home who were just shuffling money and living in chaos and guilt to fulfill the “keeping up with the Joneses.” Thank you so much for what you do…and simply read these responses when you feel like giving up!

By: PoemCatcher

PoemCatcher — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:07:17 +0000

hhhmmmm, So….
I haven’t gotten out of bed today. The duvet (aka my hiding place) has swallowed me. I have 24 hours to rattle the cage, finish a business plan and stand in front of a panel of folk desperately trying to give me money – and I want to give up.

My long lie in was fabulous, my mid morning nap was brilliant and my afternoon nap rounded off the collection superbly. so in answer to your question “What do I do when I feel like giving up?” I NAP! it helps. (Or half-helps)

Anyone who thinks this is a bum strategy needs to read “Change you life without getting out of bed” by Sark.

I also invite the world to send me a fresh poem. Poems inspire me!freshness revitalises me.

By: Shelby Rice

Shelby Rice — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:28:46 +0000

Great article Chris. usually when I feel like giving up I find it is because I am not feeling confident in myself and disconnected to my creative side. It happens when the greek chorus in my head is becoming way too loud and I am listening to what others think I should do, or I think Im supposed to do, but not necessarily what I want to do. It helps to take a long walk, or a dance or yoga class, or to go to the grocery and just buy what I feel inspired to cook. Some of my best meals have stemmed from this practice… Or sometimes just staring out the window and letting my mind wander does the trick. When I do these simple things and take time for myself away from demands of daily life, it allows for my perspective to change. I become more aligned within myself and value my own beliefs, not those of the greek chorus. (perhaps I should mention that the greek chorus consists of the voices of those influential beings in my life: family, friends, community, and ?…)

By: Jena Thompson

Jena Thompson — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:28:07 +0000

Giving up and stopping is easy. It’s even easier when you haven’t stepped forward with the life experience’s and learning that comes with it.
What’s harder is accepting that you will not give up, and that in the process, you will have to change, grow, and leave things (and people) behind.
It is in those steps forward that I feel the most scared, and the most empowered, knowing that I am making a change. Not only in my life, but in the lives of others, and that is what drives me, motivates me, and continues to remind me that I am truly living.