Grit How to keep going whe ypu want to give up pdfdrive com

When Should You Give Up?
Quitting in the dip usually seems like a bad idea (after all, you’ve already
invested a lot of time and effort into doing something). However, we humans
don’t act as rationally as we think. Persistence isn’t always the answer to all your
problems.
Before you skip this chapter and tell yourself you surely shouldn’t quit,
consider the sunk cost fallacy. If you believe in a “Don’t waste” philosophy (as
most adults do), you’re affected by this bias (but as studies point out, children
are not
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).
Let’s say you went to the college, but one year later you’re no longer
motivated to keep going. The decision to quit would make more sense than
forcing yourself to do something for which you no longer have enthusiasm. Yet,
most people would consider the year spent studying too large of an investment to
quit. They think of it as a waste of resources. Even though staying at the college
would lead to even more waste, many people would irrationally keep going.
Consequently, the first question you should ask yourself is whether you want

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to keep going just because of what you’ve already invested. If it’s your primary
(or worse, sole) motivation, chances are you’d be much better off quitting right
now.
Seth Godin argues that if you’re not invested enough to become the best in
the world in what you’re trying to achieve, you might as well quit. If you’re
settling for mediocrity, the decision to quit will benefit you more than merely
trying to be “okay” at something.
Bestselling author and multimillionaire Richard Koch points out in his book
“Living the 80/20 Way”
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that the key to success is to limit your focus to things
that mirror your individuality. You can’t be the best at everything, and
persistence pays the biggest dividends when you focus on what you’re truly best
at.
Koch’s and Godin’s approach is valid for people who want to achieve big
career goals. However, it doesn’t necessarily apply to smaller goals like learning
a foreign language or learning another side skill where the objective isn’t to
become a world-class performer.
Before you quit because you realize you can’t be the best in the world in
what you want to achieve, ask yourself why you’re doing it. Perhaps you’ll
never become a proficient Spanish speaker, but your basic communication skills
will suffice you enough to travel Spanish-speaking countries. If, on the other
hand, your goal is to become surgeon, but you’re not so fired up you want to
become the best in the world, do yourself (and others) a favor and give up now.
The last thing to consider when making the decision to keep going or give up
is to ask yourself if you still have enthusiasm – both for the process and for the
goal.
There’s a difference between short-term discouragement (which happens to
most, if not all successful people) and long-term lack of enthusiasm and loss of
the entire vision. If your vision no longer fires you up (and it’s not the result of
your current struggles, but something entirely else), the decision to quit is likely
to turn out more beneficial than sticking to it.