This morning I received an incredibly uplifting text message from my friend, author, Thomas Russell (go listen to his radio show and podcast Life Without Limits) and I wanted to share with you my favorite line from that message: “it’s when things go wrong that you must not quit.”
The whole message was amazing but this line struck me the most, because it’s SO true.
When things are going wrong, falling apart, feeling like they’re not working, never gonna work and you’re just wasting your time, it’s easy to quit. To throw in the towel and just say, “screw this.”
It’s what most people do.
Because at least then they can say they tried. At least then they can feel slightly better at the end of their life, knowing they attempted to do the thing they wanted to do.
At least now they have a scape goat; an external factor to blame for why it didn’t work or why they couldn’t do it.
But the real truth is, when you quit something you know you’re meant to be doing just because it got a little (or A LOT) hard, you’ll always regret it. And at the end of your life, you will feel disappointed that you didn’t just go for it. Try a little harder. Do a little more.
A former mentor of mine Katrina Ruth says: “When it feels like it’s not working YOU GET TOUGHER AND MORE DETERMINED.”
When things get hard, most people back down, quit, give up or allow themselves to accept a mediocre version of what they want. But that is and always will be a CHOICE.
That’s the beauty of life. You always have a choice.
You can embrace what is, accept that it’s just “what is” currently, and then dig deeper and keep freaking going. (This is what I choose to do.)
Or you can resist what is and quit. Give up. And go numb out for the rest of your life.
Hey, you may not always like the choices, but you always have choices.
And a choice you could make when things go seemingly “wrong,” is that you’re NOT gonna give up. Instead, you’re gonna pivot, make a change, step back and regroup, try something different.
You’re gonna find a way because it’s what you love. It’s what you’re called to. It’s what you’re meant for.
And it’s your relentless determination that will lead to your eventual (and inevitable) success.