Might as Well Give Up

Trying so hard gets tiring.  At times, I feel as though I might as well give up.

Relax.  This isn’t a suicide note.

Rather, it’s an admission that I sometimes get so frustrated and discouraged trying to accomplish something that just doesn’t seem to want to happen that I want to give it up and walk away.  I want to quit.  Throw in the towel.  Cry “Uncle!”  Head for the hills.  All the cliches and colloquialisms.  I’d rather do anything other than attempting to conquer the same hill from a different angle.  After all, after so many assaults on the summit from different angles, you sort of make your way all the way around the mountain to the place you started.  That’s sort of a sign that you’ve done everything you can.

Actually, it’s an indicator that you probably have all the information that you need.  After all, you’ve looked at things from all sides now.

That’s the time to hunker down, recognize the dip, and take the proverbial deep breath.  And it’s a good time that if you haven’t figured out what to do on your own, it’s probably a good time to enlist someone else.  Or take a break to let it all settle in.  Or try a second round but with the benefit of a complete picture of the problem.  There are an number of ways to go about the second attempt.  Just make sure there is a second attempt.

If you’ve made it this far, why give up?  Don’t back down now.

Of course, you could always admit defeat and move on to the next challenge.  Just don’t get addicted to surrender and don’t move on unless you’re really moving on to something else and not just…anything else.  There’s a huge difference between recognizing that your time and energy are better spent on another goal or obstacle or challenge…whatever…and simply crawling into a hole to wither away into nothing.

Death comes to all of us.  It finds us at some point.  We have to go eventually.  At least make it hard for Death to find you, for Pete’s sake.

So, the next time you’re thinking that you might as well give up, don’t.  Call the first round reconnaisance, then get up and give it another go.