When you want to give up - Willem Gous

When you want to give up

“I want to give up!” I have thought or spoken those words more than I would like to admit. Words you cannot avoid if you aim to achieve anything worthwhile in life. I think, I stand corrected, I only once met a person who never ever uttered these words – the guy who cut our hair at the army barracks and had a massive sticker on the back of his car reading “Easy does it.” I believe he has the same life today as he did back in 1991. Maybe he has more granite in his diet today? Who knows? Really, would anybody even notice that he is gone? If you have the smallest grain of motivation to do something more with your life, having more, making more money (to those against money let me say it again, more money, more money, more money) or being a change in this world, then you are bound to get to the point of saying “I want to give up!” The fact that you are thinking or saying that you want to give up doesn’t mean you are a failure. In fact, there are many benefits in reaching these feelings of frustration, anger, resistance, tiredness, punch drunkenness and hopelessness. #1. It makes you grow It is a positive sign. It shows that you are pushing yourself to grow. If you want something in your life you never had before, it means that you have to do things you have never done before. If you keep doing the same things you have always done, then you will end up with the same things you have always received (remember Mr. Easy Does It?) The feeling of giving up just means you are on the edge of your comfort zone, you are growing, you are moving forward, and that is a good thing. You are doing things you have not done before and you can expect things you have never expected before. #2. It makes you stop and think The fact that you are ready to give up might be a sign that you need to stop and reflect on the results you are getting. I avoided this for 8 years in one of my businesses and lost the financial equivalent of a 4 bedroom house in the process. You need to stop and reflect. The results I am getting doing things differently, will this give me the end goal in the timeframe I am planning? Will this really give me what I want at the end of day? Oh, some caution here. Avoid reflecting with friends and family. They love and care for you and will not always give you REAL feedback. Get a coach or mentor. #3. It makes you stop doing something you actually should stop doing Not all ideas, directions and actions are brilliant. As an entrepreneur I found that I am lucky if 51% of my ideas, actions and decisions are good. It means I am winning. Now, as I a business coach, I try to bring this to the attention of the people I work with. Sometimes you need to stop something and stop it quick. It is Steve Blank who said, “Fail fast” (remember the equivilant of a 4 bedroom house I lost?) #4. It opens the door to new opportunity Making a decision is way better than not making one. The decision to give up gives you the opportunity to start something else that might just yield the results you seek. Never give up and stop. Once you stop, you die. I think someone once said that if sharks stop swimming, they sink. Don’t sink. The quicker you stop one decision that is not working for you, the quicker you can start with your next. When you close one door, another will open. I think you get the drift here. #5. A pain with a benefit If you are not happy with your situation and you do nothing, it will hurt. Trust me, it will hurt you mentally, socially, financially and every other place in your life. If you take action to give up on one course of action to start a new one, you will still have pain. It will still hurt. It will still be uncomfortable. But chances are you will draw a certain level of benefit from a better decision. Take the shots with better rewards waiting for you. Choosing between pain and pain with a benefit, I will take the latter always. It does not make you a loser if you sometimes give up. Just don’t do it too often or you might miss your greatness and purpose in this life. In fact, making a decision to stop doing something and do something else puts you in the running of achieving your goals, living your purpose and being a positive force in this world. Go and make the decision today, “Will you give up?” or “Will you continue?”

Have you ever looked at your business as a collection of conversations?

Some conversations you are having well, others not so well, while some not at all. The ones you are NOT having well can be costing you a lot of money.

Knowing which conversations to improve can help you unlock profits within your business in the fastest, most efficient way with the least risk.

Get your FREE Tool to unlock new opportunities and profits within your business.

Willem Gous

22 May, 2017

<< Return to Blog Home

Connect with me on social media

Related Posts

Have you ever looked at your business as a collection of conversations?

Some conversations you are having well, others not so well, while some not at all. The ones you are NOT having well can be costing you a lot of money.

Knowing which conversations to improve can help you unlock profits within your business in the fastest, most efficient way with the least risk.

Get your FREE Tool to unlock new opportunities and profits within your business.

How can I help you today? See my services.

Leadership

Come and discover your true inner leader through this immersive, customised and realistic event. InsideRisk is the result of three years of research and development. An immersive program about High-Stakes Leadership in Action facing critical thinking, ethics and more.

Read More ...

Innovation

We empower you, your people, to be able to do the work we do when we leave. We are taking innovation out of the boardroom and into the economy. Enterprise level innovation at an SME price. Let us help you innovate your business while building capacity in your business.

Read More ..

Entrepreneurship

Businesses come and go, entrepreneurs remain. The Human Entrepreneur keeps entrepreneurs in the game through a human-centric, entrepreneur first, approach to sustainable entrepreneurial development. For individuals, incubators, development programs, investors and more.

Read More ...

International Speaker

Need a fresh message that motivates, energises and gets people to take action? I work with you to align my work with your message and goals to deliver impact and change. Topics & Events: Leadership, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Motivation and Team Building.

Read More ...
Share This