What does giving up mean to you?

I've long wondered why I keep blogging. Then again, I wonder why I keep writing. I know everyone feels this way about something. Why am I doing this? I'm a hack. I'll never be good enough. I should just quit.

We have to tell ourselves that this is bullshit and keep pushing forward.

There are going to be times where something has to be put to the side and something new started. That's just life. But if we give up without really trying, that's when we fail. It's like learning to swim. If you just stand there and dabble your toes in the water and say you can't swim, you're right. You can't. But you didn't really try. But then you get in the water, you have your lessons, and then either you can swim or you're relegated to staying in the shallow end of the pool because you sink like a rock. If it's that last, you didn't fail. You tried and gave it your best.

Himself is constantly reminding me of this. I have a tendency to give up after not succeeding once instead of trying again. I have a real complex about what I consider failing and look at myself as a failure when I shouldn't. He has to keep telling me as long as I'm trying I'm not a failure.

How many times do we just give up because something seems out of reach without actually trying for it? I know I have several of those missed opportunities littering the path of my life. Even if we don't get what we want, we learn and grow from those experiences. They can help us achieve new goals later on down the line.

I'm wandering a bit here, so I'll go ahead and stop. Tell me your thoughts. Do you believe that not succeeding at something is the same as failure? Or do you believe as Himself does, as he's teaching me to believe, that the only true failure is a failure to try?

Q is for Quitting

How many of us have quit something because it was too hard? Or because it hurt us, either physically or emotionally? How many of us have quit something we enjoyed because we were told there was something wrong with us? How do we know when it's time to give up?

The answer to all of those questions is it's not. I've read and been told that there are no failures, only new expectations. Quitting and not trying are the only way you fail. Quitting is a sign of weakness.

Blah. Blah. Blah.

I've heard so many things against quitting that I've begun to tune them out. The problem is they're right, to a certain extent. Quitting something before you've really given it a chance is, in my eyes, the only failure there is. If things don't go your way, then find another way to make it happen. If you can't, then change your goal or actions to accommodate the new parameters of the situation.

That doesn't mean there aren't times when you shouldn't quit. Self harm is something that you should quit. Harming others to make yourself feel better is something that should be quit. You should quit abusing someone. These it's not a failure to quit but a necessity. Though with these, a lot of it comes down to perception, a sense of worth, and the willingness to make the changes.

If you want something, don't quit. Find a way to make it work. If you absolutely can't, shift your view until you find what is working and follow that. Follow the positives. Follow the accomplishments. Look on the positive side of things and find reasons not to quit.