When You Want To Give Up – 7 Reasons Its Best To Let It Go
Not sure what to do when you want to give up? Here are 7 times its best to give up a goal and when its best to stick with it.
Let’s chat about when you want to give up.
Let me guess – the idea of “giving up” is really hard for you to process, right?
That’s because our culture encourages a never give up attitude. We are told to hold tight to our dreams and NEVER GIVE UP!
Now while that might be a good philosophy to live by the majority of the time, there does sometimes come a time when it makes sense to throw in the towel.
No one wants to be a quitter, but quitting can occasionally be the smartest choice in some circumstances.
So is it time to give up for you to give up on a goal?
Let’s find out.
Quitting may be the right choice for your circumstances if:
WHEN YOU WANT TO GIVE UP
REASON 1 – The outcome you wanted no longer appeals to you.
Maybe you always wanted to be a real estate agent, or become a classical pianist, or run a marathon, but your interests have changed and that goal no longer excites you.
That’s okay.
If this goal is something that truly no longer appeals to you, it would actually be crazy to waste your time pursuing it.
However, you need to be certain it’s the outcome that no longer excites you.
Make sure it isn’t just the work ahead that’s unappealing because that’s a completely different issue.
WHEN YOU WANT TO GIVE UP
REASON 2 – The required sacrifice is no longer worth it.
Accomplishing anything significant will require sacrifice on your part.
In the case of a physical endeavor, that sacrifice might be physical discomfort, injury, or your precious time.
Other goals might have financial sacrifices.
Regardless of the goal, there will be a sacrifice.
This sacrifice and effort is unavoidable in most cases.
You might discover though that the sacrifice required is far greater than you anticipated, or that your priorities have changed.
And that’s okay because life isn’t a static event.
Everything is constantly changing and so too are you.
WHEN YOU WANT TO GIVE UP
REASON 3 – You’ve found something better.
Suppose you were fascinated by the violin, so you bought a violin and started taking lessons.
Along the way, you discovered the guitar and all its amazing glory and decided the violin is just not doing it for you anymore.
It might in fact be totally reasonable for you to quit the violin and pursue guitar lessons instead if that is what your heart is yearning for.
Here’s the thing, our initial interests often lead us to the thing that we really love.
Many psychologists recommend this as a strategy for finding your true self.
They suggest giving all of your interests a fair try and then see what happens as a result.
WHEN YOU WANT TO GIVE UP
REASON 4 – You’re overly concerned with what others think.
Are you pursuing a medical career or a super toned body or owning a BMW because you want to impress others or is it for yourself?
It’s hard to stay focused and satisfied on a goal if you are achieving it to impress other people rather than make yourself happy.
In that case, you’d be wise to quit it immediately and find something else to do with your time that will satisfy you (and only YOU) directly.
No one is ever going to give you enough praise to make your efforts worth it.
WHEN YOU WANT TO GIVE UP
REASON 5 – It’s taking too much time or other resources from a more significant goal.
Some of your interests might be impeding your progress toward more significant goals.
That’s because you only have a certain number of hours each day.
Spreading yourself too thin ensures that you’ll never accomplish anything significant.
Casual interests often have to be set aside to support the bigger picture.
WHEN YOU WANT TO GIVE UP
REASON 6 – Your capabilities have changed.
Maybe you had a shot of winning the NYC marathon at one time in the past.
Age, injuries, family issues, and other recently discovered limitations can sometimes become hurdles that are too big to overcome.
Or those hurdles can make the necessary sacrifices too big to be worth the effort.
It’s fine to put down a goal if you physically aren’t capable of achieving it anymore.
WHEN YOU WANT TO GIVE UP
REASON 7 – As your situation changes, your objectives might change too.
For example, a recently married person might find that they have greater responsibilities, new priorities and demands on their resources so they may want to forego a previous goal.
The key is that they are OKAY with the idea of letting that goal go.
The truth is some goals become too costly in terms of resources to continue to pursue.
There’s only so much time, money, and other resources available to pursue your goals.
You are also constantly evolving in life and there’s a chance that your interests will also change over time.
What was once appealing can lose its lustre over time.
WHEN YOU WANT TO GIVE UP
In the end, you might find something better to spend your time on or perhaps your capabilities or life situation have changed.
If that is the case, please don’t stress as these are all good reasons to consider quitting.
There’s no shame in calling it quits when you know in your heart of hearts it’s the smartest option available to you.
Before You Go…
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I’m Frances Vidakovic – a mindset & action coach for quietly ambitious women who want to stop overthinking and finally take aligned action. I help women achieve their goals and follow through on what matters, without sacrificing their sanity or soul.