Everyone is going through their journey in life, and most of them have a big goal somewhere at the end of the road. You probably have one of your own, too, if not several. They’re not always easy to achieve, but you do your best to get to them anyway.
But what happens when your initial motivation and inspiration wears thin? What happens when you’re not sure if you want to keep going? How can you stop yourself from falling apart? Here are four ways to keep going when you think about giving up.
1. Get In Touch With Your Emotions
Some feelings are driving your desire to give up. Avoiding or ignoring them will only drive you further away from persistence. What does this mean? Well, it’s time to get in touch with yourself and what you feel.
The emotions that you experience are happening for a reason. It would be best if you acknowledged them to work through them. Remember, your feelings come from something that concerns you, even if it’s subconscious. Working to find the roots of those emotions brings you closer to yourself and tells you what you need to do. Here are some tips:
· Acknowledge The Importance Of Your Emotions
Mental health and positive thinking determine a lot of things, from motivation to physical health. It’s essential to recognize that what you feel is just as concerned about your health as a physical health threat. By remembering this importance, you allow yourself to trust and value how you feel.
· Pinpoint Why You Want To Give Up
There are so many reasons that you may be feeling the desire to put an end to things. It’s essential to determine what that cause is. Are you tired? Afraid? Bored? Discouraged? Traumatized? Apathetic? Depressed? These details determine what you can do next to help yourself.
· Get Comfortable With Discomfort
There will always be points in your life where you’re outside your comfort zone, and those points are necessary for progress. If this fuels your desire to give up, it’s time to take a step back and acknowledge the necessity of discomfort. You will have to practice being uncomfortable with new and unfamiliar situations if you want to progress in any area of life!
· Do Not Let Hopelessness Win
No matter what you do, do not give in to feelings of hopelessness. Your emotions may not always reflect reality, so think about if your feelings are validated by actual circumstances or are the product of unrealistic anxieties. Acknowledging your emotions doesn’t mean being a doormat for them, so don’t let them win if they aren’t warranted. Instead, show yourself the evidence that your emotions aren’t grounded in facts and power on through.
2. Plan Ahead
When it feels like your world is spiraling out of control, sometimes what your brain needs is to help make it stop being so overwhelmed. The desire to give up is often the cause of being unable to think about the road ahead of you without being frightened, feeling hopeless, or feeling like there’s too much or that you’re not capable of your dreams.
· Create A Schedule
A schedule allows you to build routines around everyday tasks. These tasks will become more comfortable and feel more natural the more often you do them. By planning a schedule, you’re assigning clear responsibilities to yourself that can make the future seem less intimidating.
· Set Goals
Setting goals often has a positive effect on you because it helps you keep organized, visualize success, and hold yourself accountable. When you feel like giving up, it can motivate you while showing you how your goals can be manageable. Try setting several different purposes, but start small. Plan a few simple short term goals and then work your way up. If a goal becomes overwhelming, break it down into even smaller goals!
· Learn And Adapt
Your plans don’t have to be set in stone. Apply lessons you learn along the way to your goals and adapt them to be more suited to you and your desired destination as you go. The knowledge that plans don’t have to be set in stone and that you aren’t ruining your chances by making a mistake can spur you forward in difficult times.
· Know Challenges Are Normal
All roads get a little bumpy. You will face challenges, and that’s part and parcel of the process of going towards what you want. Plan for those challenges and expect them to pop up now and then!
· Create A Backup
Anxious about everything falling apart? Make a backup plan. This way, you’ll know that you have yourself covered if things go south. Just make sure that you don’t jump into your backup preemptively!
3. Remind Yourself Why You’re Here
The so-called grind is vital to progress, but some people focus so much on the grind that they lose sight of why they began that grind in the first place. Remembering your journey’s humble beginnings is a great way to bring yourself up and inspire yourself all over again. Here are some ways to do so:
· Remember Your Enthusiasm
You were likely excited about this goal when you began. Think about that excitement, the thrill of the upcoming adventure, and the single-minded belief in your ability to accomplish your dreams. What’s changed? You are every bit as capable of it now, if not more so! Bring your roots back into perspective and remember those positive feelings.
· Visualize Success
Think about the accomplishments you want and visualize them. Think about all the beautiful things you desire and how great it’ll feel to get there. If you give up now, you’ll never taste that success – so don’t give up! Keep going and grinding and make that visualization a reality!
· Think About The Good
Struggles and challenges seem like dark clouds, but silver linings always exist. Think about all the things you can be grateful for. Think about how strong you are, how fortunate you are to have found a goal, and how each struggle teaches you more and more so that your future is brighter. With this kind of positive thinking, things that could make you give up are transformed into valuable educational experiences.
· Think Of New Reasons
You will change as a person over time, and that’s okay. In the beginning, what motivated you may not motivate you anymore, or it may no longer be valid. That’s okay! Find new reasons that you want to go towards your goal! If your old reasons were unhealthy, find intrinsic healthy reasons to keep going.
But what happens if you try to remember why you’re here and find that you no longer want that goal? What happens if you don’t have a good reason, or if all your senses have to do with sad things, like pleasing others? Know that it is also okay to evaluate your dreams and see if you want to continue them. If you decide it’s no longer your path, you’re not giving up – you’re starting a new chapter in life.
4. Be Kind To Yourself
It’s easy to be hard on yourself when times are rough, expecting a lot of your mind and body, and being upset with yourself when you fall short. Ironically, this may be one of the reasons you want to give up in the first place!
If you only criticize yourself again and again, how can you expect to stay inspired and succeed? You likely already know that being harsh on others isn’t an excellent way to help them grow as people, so why would you apply that to yourself? Worse still, if you would never speak to others with the harshness you use on yourself, what’s the rationale for such self-cruelty?
People often forget that things like self-compassion are just as crucial as being hard-working. If you don’t practice this kindness, you’ll lose your positive thinking and wind up in a bad situation. Here are some ways to be kinder to yourself so you can keep going when you think about giving up:
· Celebrate Even Small Victories
Every win is one worth celebrating. If you don’t allow yourself to appreciate your little victories, you’re indirectly telling yourself that small accomplishments aren’t good enough. You should remember that your successes are all amazing, and you should pat yourself on the back for them!
· Stop The Comparisons
If you beat yourself up because you’re not like someone else, you’re imposing unfair and unreasonable standards on yourself – and also on the other person! Each individual has their journey and their own experiences that lend themselves to where they are today. You cannot possibly know everything others are going through, so focus on building yourself up instead of comparing yourself to others.
· Make Your Expectations Realistic
If your expectations are too high, you’re forcing yourself to adhere to impossible standards. No matter how hard you try, you’re setting yourself up for failure, which is incredibly unfair to you. Make sure that your expectations are challenging to achieve but not flat-out impossible!
· Remember How Far You’ve Come
When you feel like giving up, it’s easy to forget how much you’ve grown. Most change happens gradually, so you may not even notice your improvements until you stop and think about them. Reflect on your past accomplishments and efforts and realize how powerful you are to have come this far, to begin with!
· Take Breaks
You are allowed to rest. No one can go full steam ahead all the time. Every once in a while, recognize that a desire to give up can be a warning sign of burnout and take some time to chill out. It’s okay to take breaks when you need them, and taking breaks may even have positive effects on your progress and motivation later. Your brain is using your off-time to continue building itself and its cognitive function!
Final Thoughts On Some Ways To Keep Going When You Think About Giving Up
There are hurdles in every effort, bumps in every road, and unexpected circumstances in every journey. It’s natural to sometimes feel like giving up and to wonder if it’s all worth it. What matters is that you know how to keep going healthily and positively, even when thoughts of throwing in the towel come to the surface. Need more help? Seek support groups or mental health professionals!
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