June 3, 2008

Are You Giving Up Too Soon?   "The road to success is dotted with many parking places," said a wise person.  Does one of those parking places belong to you?  It does if you lack "stick-to-it" power, also known as perseverance - steady and continued action, usually over a long period of time, and in spite of difficulties, obstacles, and discouragement.    Perseverance is also:   Commitment to get the job done, which goes hand in hand with how badly you want something  And, how clear your vision is of what you want Being patient with yourself and not expecting instant gratification at every turn The belief in your abilities; the self-confidence that you can have what you want Your ability to adapt to the circumstances that come your way and to make course corrections and changes when necessary, instead of quitting Resilience.  How easy is it for you to bounce back after suffering a defeat? Stretching out of your comfort zone; being comfortable being uncomfortable Not giving in to the bad habits of laziness and indifference Being able to press on...and on Surrounding yourself with people who also understand what it means to persevere Resisting the temptation to become side-tracked Focus   When you do not persevere, you quit on yourself.  You give up on your dreams, your talents, and your successes in life.    Develop the ability to hang in there.  You will never know the "what if?" when you give up too soon.          "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."             Albert Einstein   "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."             Thomas Edison    "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.  Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.  Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.  Persistence and determination are omnipotent."             Calvin Coolidge   "Sometimes your greatest asset is simply your ability to stay with it longer than anyone else."             Brian Tracy   "When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn."             Harriet Beecher Stowe       I can persevere.  There's no way I would have completed dental school and stayed in practice for 25 years without perseverance.  I don't feel I quit too soon; under the circumstances I knew it was time to move on.  It also took perseverance to write my first book, "Rings around the Collar" and it will take more of the same to write the second one, (How to be a...).  More details later.   I do find it easy to get sidetracked and off the balance beam, though, so I am mindful of my self-talk.  That's my parking place.  Once I lose my confidence my zeal begins to nosedive, and I can quit in a heartbeat.  When I believe that I can do it, I keep going!    Have a fantastic week and hang in there.   Stephanie     We grow by "word-of-email" so please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone whom you think might benefit from and enjoy it. Thanks so much! Contact Us: stephanie@7steps2abalancedlife.com