Today’s Thought: Quitting is a legitimate path to Greatness. This flies in the face of conventional thinking, which demands we ‘never quit.’ However, that advice is meaningless without context. I can’t tell you how often I see people blindly ‘sticking it out,’ thinking they have to if they want to achieve their ‘dream,’ when their failure to quit may be what is standing in their way.
Laser-like focus, commitment, and consistency are hallmarks of success. A life cluttered with distractions and half-passions can knock you right off track, though. Think about it. We can only do so many things in any set amount of time. Where we invest our moments directly shapes the future we create. If we want to be our best self, living our best life, isn’t it better to quit the things that steal our attention from where it should be?
I’m not suggesting quitting simply because the going gets tough, but that you quit what doesn’t fit, or the things that suck away your life moments. Too often we fill our lives with activities, commitments, and tasks we think we need to do, because we’ve been convinced we have to prove ourselves. So we waste our time with empty distractions, and that laser-like focus and commitment go out the window, while we run around like chickens without their heads. This headless chicken kind of chaos prevents us from recognizing, much less expressing, our inner awesome, not to mention interrupting us from our true path.
Consider this carefully. If you dropped everything but tasks tied to reaching your 3 biggest dreams, can’t you imagine you would get there faster? What if you dropped all but things tied to 2, or even the 1 single most important dream in your life?
I’m not saying you have to get to that point. I’m suggesting that if you want to master something, be truly great at it, that thing has to become the single most important task in your life. Everything else detracts from it, dilutes your time and attention. When you spend time in one thing, it is less time in another. Only you can determine how far you want to go, but understand the correlation between how we spend our time and what we create in our lives.
I do actually believe there is value in having a bit of balance – another couple of things in your life that matter, other than the one primary goal. Sometimes diverting our mind and focus can allow things to simmer on a subconscious level, making our work even better, at least in my experience. However, most of us have far too many distractions cluttering up the landscape of our lives. Dropping the majority of them like hot potatoes may be just what you need to break through to a higher level of success.
The one caveat: Never quit just because something is hard. You may adjust course, re-evaluate, and opt to see something in a new light, or as having proven to not be a right fit for you, and that is fine. One of the best ways to learn what ‘fits’ you is to try on different things. Just, when you find something that is worthwhile, don’t simply quit during tough times. Challenges of this nature can change your life, and propel you forward, if you face them. The key is understanding what you are leaving behind because it is detracting from the bigger picture, the ability to express your genuine self on your life journey, as opposed to quitting something of value because you went through a rough patch. Then again, Liberation Artists do things with intention, consideration, and attention. Randomly quitting things impractically isn’t their M.O. Nor should it be yours.
For Today: Try writing down everything you do for 3 days. Then rate those activities. How many hours did you spend on things that are moving you toward the life you dream of? How many hours were spent doing the things you truly love, that bring joy to your life? Most people discover very little time goes to what really matters most to them. If that proves true for you, ask yourself some questions: ”What do I want for myself and my life? Are these distractions worth it?”
If the answer is no, they aren’t, how can you drop them, so you can build the life you know you want and deserve?
Keep in mind: Sometimes ‘quitting’ has to happen as a slow transition. We cannot throw our lives and those of others who depend on us into chaos, necessarily, by quitting our job overnight without another source of income. Or rather, we can, but it is going to be some bumpy ride. You may opt to transition slowly. Think it through, and then decide what is best for you. Just – make sure you are ever moving toward a life where more and more of your time is spent in high quality activities that are genuinely weaving the life you long for.
Go for it! Look for the brass ring, get to where you can quit the stuff standing in your way, and make the stretch – it can all be yours!