Thinking About Quitting?

I’m writing this post to inspire anyone who occasionally gets that ‘giving up’ bug. I’ve caught that bug enough times that I can provide three perspectives on the subject that will alter anyone’s outlook who has ever considered, or is considering throwing in a towel.

After thinking back on the times I’ve backed out of endeavors… be it a book I was writing, or a relationship, a job or career or any undertaking where I started out gung-ho, to end up letting go, I noticed an uncanny trend. Everything I let go of, I realized what was missing. The fire. The passion was missing.

Yeah, at first, just like the puppy love stage of falling in love… the stars and many moons were all lined up... until daylight crept in and the stars and many moons disappeared.

It was only those things that I was truly passionate about, no matter how tough things got, that I never let go of. I stayed with that story. Have yet to stop reading. And for darn sure wasn’t leaving my children.

So, let this be #1. It is impossible to give up on a true passion because we never lose interest in doing anything we truly love. This is one way to determine if we have found our true passion. It would take a very serious professional counselor to pull us away from doing something we truly love… except who would dare?

…Bringing me to #2. Gatekeepers. A gatekeeper (in this instance) is anyone who tries to dissuade (or prevent) other people from enjoying or benefiting from 'the work' this passion tends to produce. A gatekeeper can also be our own conscience, luring us to looking over the fence at the grass on the other side, or next door at the Joneses.

What helps getting around gatekeepers is checking our egos.

Short story. I once worked on a project I was fairly passionate about. But it was a lot of work weighted down by support I would have liked to have received, compared to support I did receive. It wasn’t until after I gave up, or more precisely, it wasn’t until I examined how social media worked that I realized my mistake.

Many using social media calculate likability and 'success' by profile activity… you know, the likes and follows... often employing a bevy of savvy 'marketing tactics' to up the activity, which some I actually applaud. My only problem was what I saw happening to 'authentic' fans who truly like… religiously follow and purchase ...and actually use (or read) my work.

For me, it is the ultimate ego off track to ignore… discount…or 'under-appreciate' so much as 1 fan, a promise I made to myself not to let happen again.

…Bringing me to #3. Where as it is easier to give up on things we can find reasons for walking away from, it is much harder to conjure up other passions we can pour our hearts into with little to no incentives. I, MYSELF, have thought about this before. I mean, okay… so I stop reading and writing and do exactly what? Despite the truth that there is someone and something for everyone to love, it’s also true that you could spend a lifetime looking for 'unconditional' love. So why throw it away, if you’ve already found it?