Pushing Through The Struggle: Knowing When To Quit & When To Carry On
Let me ask you a question - and I want you to be honest when you answer. You don't need to leave your answer in a comment. You don't even have to say it out loud. I just want you to think about it.
How many times have you felt like quitting? Not just in blogging, but in different aspects of your life. How many times have you thought, I can't do this, and wanted to give up?
My guess is a lot. Why? Because I've been there too.
Everybody has. There will be someone, somewhere that feels like quitting every day. There’ll be someone who feels like quitting right now. A person who has everything and a person who has nothing - it doesn't matter the difference between them when it comes to quitting, because they've both felt like doing it.
But how do you know when to quit for real?
Quitting can be one of the easiest and one of the hardest things to do. But usually, the problem we have is the struggle in deciding whether or not it’s the right choice. Some people quit for the right reasons – maybe a project is costing you too much, and not just financially. Other times, someone might give up because it’s less scary than pushing forward. But knowing the difference between these two ends of the scale is key to making the right decision.
I’ve never felt like quitting when it comes to ABOH. I started this blog for the right reasons. Sure, there have been times when I’ve felt lost and wanted to go in a different direction, so I’ve made a change. There are times when I’ve felt despair and confusion, both of which could have led me to quitting – but I didn’t.
When it came to me developing this blog into a business, that’s when I felt like quitting. On more than one occasion. Eventually, I realised that if I quit this, it wouldn’t be a signal of weakness or failure. I actually quit for the right reasons. It was affecting my relationships, my work and my blog performance. So I decided to put that on hold.
Quitting something is always a hard decision, no matter what it is. But having that feeling also gives you an immense sense of power. Your power. With that power you can do great things. I may have quit on the idea of turning my blog into a business. But that’s actually turned into something even better – I’ve never felt more comfortable with my blog than I have over these past couple of weeks.
I read an article about quitting recently that said when you quit, you’ll feel freedom for a few minutes. And then afterwards, all you’ll feel is regret. But I completely disagree.
Quitting doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It means you’ve made a decision for the better. You’ve made a choice that will improve your life.
Should that come with regret?
Ultimately, you’ll know if you’ve made the right decision when you make it.
Pursuing our endeavours is never supposed to be easy, whether it’s online or offline. If it were easy then everyone would do it. As people building an online presence especially, it’s made to seem like we have to have everything figured out right away. There is so much pressure put on us to do certain things, like making our blog an income stream. Combine that with self doubt and creative blocks, it’s really no wonder we have the urge to quit sometimes. So when we see other people so on track, it can make us feel worse.
I truly believe a lot of people online use a sugar coat. They make everything seem so easy. This is how I made six figures in a month, this is how I got to 3000 newsletter subscribers, this is what makes my Instagram presence so popular. It’s BS. That formula won’t work for everyone – believe me, I’ve tried them, and that can lead us to feeling like quitting even more.
There will always be highs and lows in our online journey. Most of us are still finding our feet. There’s no magic spell to becoming successful in this world, whatever version of success you relate to. We go along with what we know and what we want, and that’s what makes a good blogger. It’s made to seem like we have to have everything together, but what if we don’t? What if I hadn’t revealed my deepest struggles to you about the direction I wanted to take this blog in? Sure, there’ll be some people out there who think I don’t have it in me to build a business or I gave up too easily. Let them think it. Just because you share your struggles with someone doesn’t make you any less successful. Sharing your feelings about pushing through the struggle will open you mind to other possibilities. It might give you the answer and the freedom you needed. You might find by sharing that you’re feeling like quitting, people in your community come together for you. They might talk to you about it, help you and give you good advice. And if you see a pattern in that advice, take it. I did and I’ve never felt more on track.
A Final Note…
Here’s to pushing through the struggle, finding the strength in jumping over hurdles and listening to each other when it comes to making decisions. If you feel like this and don’t know whether to push through the struggle, ask yourself, Is it worth it? Do you love it? And what’s the alternative if you give up? That last question is usually the one that will have the most impact.
Just remember, you’re not the only one that feels like quitting. You’re not on your own. We’re all pushing through the struggle daily. The difference is in those people who choose to share it and overcome it.
Have you ever felt like quitting? What made you push through the struggle?