The Consequences of Giving Up Too Early

Failure is going to happen, it's inevitable. It is how we respond to failure that is key. We fail a few too many times and we respond by giving up. It's a sad truth that too many people give up on their goals and aspirations, and prevent themselves from enjoying success and living their dreams.

I do not know the history of every great achievement ever accomplished, but of the ones that I do know of, they all have experienced failure along the way. Or as the ones who achieved success will tell you, they experienced a learning lesson along the way.

Michael Jordan, regarded by many as the greatest basketball player of all time was cut from his high school basketball team. Walt Disney was fired from a job, where they said he lacked imagination. Steven Spielberg was rejected from film school three times. John Grisham's first book, "A Time to Kill", was rejected numerous times before becoming a best seller. Oprah Winfrey was fired from an early job as a television news anchor. Steve jobs was fired from his own company only to come back and turn Apple into this massive empire we know today. Failure is a part of what has made them who they are.

Instant success is a myth. Many successful people, such as the ones above, have failed numerous times. What would have happened if they chose to give up, instead of being resilient, remaining optimistic, believing in themselves, and learning from their mistakes of failures.

Think about this, you could be quitting right before your success. Don't be deterred by obstacles and challenges, they are just part of the journey and the journey is where all the magic happens, it makes your success even sweeter. They become part of the stories you tell when you speak of your journey.

So, what separates these people from the majority? Their mindset. They have an incredible commitment to their purpose, an unwavering passion for what they want and they believe that hard work, perseverance, and learning from their mistakes/failures, gives them the ability to learn and continue to improve and develop the necessary knowledge and skills to succeed. This is what Carol Dweck calls a growth mindset. A growth mindset, combined with optimism and positive thinking can be a very powerful combination. A growth mindset essentially is the belief that you can develop, skills, talents, knowledge through practice and effort and generally look at mistakes or failures as learning opportunities, a chance for improvement. Add optimism to the equation and you have increased resilience and become better equipped to handle setbacks.

So, the question becomes; "Are you giving up too early?" Maybe you need a new mindset, a different approach, a stronger belief, an accountability partner, a mentor, or a coach. The power lies within you. Shifting your mindset is key to keeping up motivation, staying focused, and trying to find solutions when it gets tough.

Ask yourself, "What if?", in 6 months, 1 year, 5 years or even in 10 years will I regret giving up? And, if the answer is yes, DON'T QUIT! Learn, adapt, innovate, change something, find a solution, commit, focus, and find a new way or new people to surround yourself with, but DON'T GIVE UP! You owe it to yourself.