What To Do When You Feel Like Giving Up!
Feeling like giving up is natural and normal...
"When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life."
— Greg Anderson.
Hello there to all my wonderful readers, followers and friends.
This is me warmly welcoming you late to July, an incredible month!
June was a fantastic month, and in this post, I will share one important lesson I learned.
It's a deeply personal one, and I firmly believe you'll appreciate it because it's something we've all encountered at one point in our lives.
I Had Something Different In Mind!
I had already prepared a different draft to publish.
But at the last minute, a different thought occurred to me, and I felt compelled to share one fundamental lesson I learned the previous month.
It's not just all about publishing; it's about publishing wisdom people can genuinely learn from.
The internet is filled with all kinds of junk writing/content.
People just publish for the algorithm; only a very few creators put in the work to create content that is truly personal and genuinely connects with people. Personal work hasn't been as important and needed as it is today in the age of Artificial Intelligence-generated content.
In the future, people will crave genuine stories, experiences and perspectives that are not machine-produced.
And AI is going to become extremely intelligent, to the point where it would be impossible to differentiate between what is real and what is machine-produced.
It's already happening.
Recently, someone saw what I wrote (handwritten) and they were like, "You used ChatGPT to write it." I was surprised.
We are reaching a point where people may begin to doubt you if you tell them you wrote or created something yourself.
So, we've to go the extra mile to prove and defend our works as creators.
In the future, AI will be able to perform almost everything.
But what it won't be able to do in a million years is have a story, and not just have one, but infuse a soul and a spirit into a story.
That's where humans should stand out.
I Am Going To Be Very Sincere With You
Being Emotionally Intelligent and knowing when to disengage, relax, refresh, refire and return.
Our minds are like invisible machines that need oil, water and fuel to work properly.
Those of us who drive or operate machinery would better understand the importance of fuel, oil, and water to the engine's efficient operation.
If an engine doesn't have enough fuel, it stops working; if it doesn't have enough oil, it won't work smoothly; and if there's no water to cool it down, it can overheat and potentially explode.
Our minds (and bodies) work according to the same principles.
When we begin to suspect that we're getting tired, bored, and feeling like giving up, that's when we must stop, raise our heads, look above the line, and catch our breath.
We could get caught up in the web of doing and working that we forget entirely to pause and take a break.
You Are Allowed To Get Tired
Yes, you are. You are allowed to get tired, and it's natural. It's not a weakness to enter a phase of tiredness.
We are humans, not machines or algorithms. As we work and engage daily, we get worn out, we use energy and motivation, and there are times when we need to pause and refresh.
Burnout is real, and if mismanaged, can be very dangerous. It doesn't matter how much you love what you do. A time would always come when you must rest! And if you don't rest, you will never be able to give your best to the things you love doing.
When You Want To Give Up
Recently, I sat down and was ready to throw in the towel on some projects I have been working on.
I was tired, fed up and ready to shut it all down!
But before I did it, I took some time to reflect on some things.
I conducted in-depth retrospective studies to understand why I had started them in the first place.
And going back to the beginning was where I found some strength.
I had deep and genuine reasons why I started those projects in the first place.
I wanted to make people's lives better and inspire them.
I didn't start because of money or fame; I just wanted to change and make a difference in people's lives.
And that was where strength came from.
Go Back!
Why did you start that journey?
What were your reasons?
If you can find your reasons for why you started, I can tell you clearly that you will find strength there.
Count Your Blessings, Success And Victories
Look back and count your blessings.
Think about those times you touched, even if it was one person's life.
Think about the progress you've made.
And the victories.
If you can count blessings yesterday, then you will count tomorrow.
It's easy for us to forget where we are coming from.
We get overwhelmed by the challenges today and easily forget the victories of yesterday.
It happens to the best of us, but what makes people stand out is their ability to pause and reflect, draw strength from yesterday's victories and keep going.
Where Are You Today?
Think about where you've come.
The work you've put into building.
The sacrifices, the sweat and the blood.
You don't want it all to become an old, decaying monument somewhere in the middle of the desert of time.
If you can make it here today, you can take it there tomorrow.
One day at a time.
Where Are you Going?
It's more than just having a vision; it's about your future. What can you see? Most people handle their visions in isolation from their actual existence. Don't isolate your visions; they are all part of your life, especially if you are an entrepreneur or innovator.
Your vision for your business or project is part of your life. If it fails, part of you fails. And if it succeeds, a part of you also succeeds.
When you feel like giving up, think about your future.
Your Failed Projects Become Manure For The Ones Coming
Yes, there are times we may not be able to wing it through and succumb to failure.
And mind you, failure is deeper than it seems.
Failure is experience.
Failure is learning.
Failure is strength.
If you approach failure with this mindset, then your failures become manure for future ideas or projects.
Embrace failure with the right mindset. Failure is not a call to give up; instead, it should broaden your horizon, make you even stronger and direct you to the right path.
Someone Else Will Do It!
If you don't do it, someone else stronger will do it. And their strength will not be in a hidden strategy but in their resolve to push through, which you also had but refused to utilise.
Why did I start with the importance of resting?
Simple. One of the reasons why people give up is that they become dry. And tired and worn out.
So, take a break.
Go on a vacation.
Close the garage or workshop or books or computers and go breathe some fresh air for a week, two, a month, three, six or even a year or more and come back!
I am going to do it.
Take a very long break. Rest, learn more, dig deeper and come back stronger and better.
I hope you've learned something here.
And I hope that I have been able to motivate you a little bit to add one more mile!
Have a wonderful weekend ahead.
Catch you next week!
Before I Finally Let You Go
I was checking my saved "to-read" folder and found an old article I enjoyed reading, so I'm sharing it with you (I save interesting articles and stories in special folders).
It's titled " How To Understand Things" by Nabeel S. Qureshi.
It's a simple title with a very deep and profound message.
Most of our education teaches us how to read or study and pass exams.
We barely go deep enough.
It's after school that we might begin to strive to understand things more deeply, and it's only those who genuinely delve deeper into understanding beyond the surface who rule and run the world—in all aspects of life—science, health, economics, faith etc!
Read it here.
"I concluded that what we call “intelligence” is as much about virtues such as honesty, integrity, and bravery, as it is about “raw intellect.”
— Nabeel S. Qureshi.
Bye, for the final time.
Don't forget to rest, eat well, exercise, breathe deeply, and take some air.
And subscribe if you haven't.
And comment too! There’s a whole lot we can learn from your comments…