None of us likes to fail.
We set out to achieve something, hoping that we will find instant success. Some things come naturally to us; others do not. Still, we try multiple things over the years and eventually hone in on a few that we enjoy.
If one measure of your success is that you don’t fail very often, then you aren’t challenging yourself enough.
With each failure comes the discovery of how not to do something. There is nothing right or wrong about the results that are produced – they either move you toward or away from the ultimate goal.
Each time you attempt something and it doesn’t work out, you have taken one step towards the achievement of what you are trying to do. You get a little closer every time.
If a goal is worthwhile, then it is worth doing well. Or at least doing. The quality of the action is a subjective judgment that doesn’t define the satisfaction that comes through doing what you enjoy.
What if you were about to give up on something that was really important to you, something that has proved elusive, and you discovered that you were only one attempt away from success?
When is the right time to quit?
It depends on what you are doing and how strongly you feel about it. When a goal is extremely worthwhile to you, then perhaps you should never give up until you achieve it.
Does this persistence guarantee success? Of course not. But there is something compelling about the desire to achieve something so much that you will never accept defeat as the final answer.
It almost seems like this tenacity is proof that the goal is meant to be yours.
All desires have different levels to them. The desire to live is so strong in most people that we will do anything to survive if our life is threatened in some way. That is our basic survival instinct in action.
The same goes if our family is threatened, or when we feel compelled to stand up for someone who is being mistreated.
But when it comes to our own dreams, sometimes we throw in the towel way too soon. If it was a matter of survival, we would fight much harder and for much longer.
If you are influenced by the judgment of others, you may lack the fortitude to advance forward when reason tells you that you should stop. The criticism you may have to endure could prove to be too much when the naysayers seem to take pleasure in your failure.
There is never a better time to learn to ignore the good opinion of others than when you are trying to work on achieving your dreams.
If there is a way to do what you want to do without involving anyone else, all the better. Especially in the early stages, goals seem more reachable when you can allow them to begin to grow without those around you trying to tear them down.
When people criticize your attempts to improve yourself, it is often because they are afraid to do so themselves.
Any dream that you have is worth pursuing. If in the course of working towards it you discover that it no longer excites you, then make adjustments or start over.
Never stop dreaming.
Stopping yourself from continuing to take action towards attaining what you truly want is a shame. You might be just one step away from having whatever it is you desire.