When to Give Up on Your Goals
3 Guilt-Free Ways to Know
When should you give up on your goals? Well, according to the messages that have been drilled into our heads since the day we were born — never!
Never give up — Give 110% — Quitters never win
But come on; life’s not that simple is it? And, while these cliché one-liners can be motivating at times, most of the time all they do is lead to stress-inducing guilt and fear. Why?
Because you don’t know when to give up. You feel guilty for not having more self-discipline. You feel like a loser because everyone else seems to be able to achieve their goals. You’re afraid of disappointing the people who have supported you. So, what do you do? You never give up!
And how has that been working out for you? I’m guessing not very well since the title of this essay caught your attention. So, maybe it’s time to give yourself permission to give up. Not on your overall mission but on the goals you’ve set to help you achieve that mission.
So how do you know when to give up on your goals and when to keep pushing forward? By taking these 3 things into consideration:
- Does your goal really serve your “why”? Think back to the reason you created the mission this goal is attached to in the first place. There’s a good chance that your goal isn’t actually in alignment with your “why”. Because, sometimes we get a little lost in the process of goal setting. As we’re trying to find our way, we start setting goals based on our limiting beliefs and/or other people’s expectations. Basically, we do what we think we should do — what other people have done — rather than taking the actions that would truly serve our mission.
- Have circumstances changed? Maybe you’ve had a change in your personal life. Perhaps technology has changed. Or, it could be that your means of financial support have changed. Whatever circumstance has changed, this shift might leave your original goal unobtainable or obsolete. Which means that, you’re going to have to give up on that goal and set a new one to achieve your mission.
Keep scrolling for the 3rd — and most overlooked — consideration that will help you decide when to give up on your goals.
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The 3rd & Most Overlooked
Consideration
#3 – Are you willing to pay the price? Most of the time, we don’t realize the true cost of obtaining a goal when we set it. How could we? It’s probably something that we’ve never done before. The price could be financial, physical, or emotional. Maybe it’s putting yourself into unmanageable debt. Maybe it’s giving up free time with your loved ones. Or, maybe it’s overwhelming stress. It’s okay to decide that you’re not willing to pay the price for this particular goal. Recalibrate, get creative, and come up with a different way to achieve your mission.
If you’re looking for more personal development inspiration and support, you might enjoy these full-length posts:
The Best Personal Growth Goal You Can Have
How to Own Your Why – 5 Simple Steps
Be Decisive: Practice This Powerful 3-Step Process
Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or would like me to point you in the direction of more tools you can use on your personal development journey. Here’s my email: amanda@theexpectationgaps.com.
Click here for more posts with a “trust yourself” theme.
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SCREENSHOT TIME!
Take a screenshot for a quick reminder of the 3 things to consider when you’re thinking of giving up on a goal:
- Does your goal really serve your “why”?
- Have circumstances changed?
- Are you willing to pay the price?
HOW THE EXPECTATION GAPS WORKS
YOU'RE HERE
You have a knot in your stomach telling you that something is missing from your life, but you don’t know what it is. On the surface, you have everything you could ever want. Yet . . .
You’re frustrated…overwhelmed…”crazy busy”…burned out…unfulfilled…
I'VE BEEN THERE!
That’s why I’ve been focused on living with intention and becoming a Deliberate Thinker for ~ 10 years.
I want to help you with your journey by sharing mine.
PIN IT!