It happens to me several times a week. I want to quit. Just yesterday, I wanted to quit my run halfway into it. After the first mile, my lazy self asked, \u201cWhy can\u2019t we just walk?\u201d For a while, the voice got louder with each step.<\/p>\n\n
But if it\u2019s not running, it is something else: my marriage, my job, my writing, my blog, or even God. This is just the nature of life. The temptation to quit is a recurring theme.<\/p>\n
And if the voices in our heads were not enough trouble, the voices in our culture also urge us to \u201cthrow in the towel,\u201d \u201cmake a change,\u201d or \u201ctake it easy on yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
What these same voices fail to tell you is that there is a distinction between the dream and the work required to obtain it. Everything important requires work. Hard work. And sometimes there is a long arc between the dream and it\u2019s realization. That is where the work and the transformation occur.<\/p>\n
In my experience, the thing that keeps me going is answering this question, \u201cWhy am I doing this?\u201d I then try to remember<\/em> the dream. \u201cWhy I am doing this hard thing that I am doing.\u201d I try to get connected to the original vision, because that keeps me going when the going gets tough.<\/p>\n For example, when Gail and I have a fight\u2014yes, we do have fights\u2014I ask, \u201cSo why should I stay in this marriage?\u201d Instead of pushing that question down like holding a beach ball under the water, I let it surface and embrace it. \u201cWhat is at stake?\u201d<\/p>\n But notice: I\u2019m not asking \u201cWhy should I quit?\u201d because I will get answers to that question too. The mind is tricky that way. It will attempt to answer whatever question you ask it, so you must be very careful with how you frame the question. Instead, I focus on the positive. I am looking for reasons to keep going.<\/em><\/p>\n So, why should I stay in this marriage?<\/p>\n I have a written list like this for every important area in my life. If I get stuck and want to quit, I pull out the list and start reading through it. Immediately, it gives me perspective and energizes me. It makes it possible to silence the voices and get my head back into the race.<\/p>\n The truth is that we learn the best lessons when we don\u2019t quit. This is when our character is transformed and good things happen.<\/p>\n Everything important requires work. Hard work. And sometimes there is a long arc between the dream and it\u2019s realization. That\u2019s when we want to quit, but that is also where the work and the transformation occur.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":19935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[360,1616,219,33,58,220],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n