Wikipedia defines Attraction as: A force that, exerted between or among bodies, tends to make them approach each other or prevents their separating.

Sounds so simple but in reality it’s anything but. It’s a natural feeling, a trait that all of us posess, the ability to be attracted by and to other things, living or otherwise.

Whether it be people, places, things, it really doesn’t matter what it is. We are all different and as such, we are attracted to different things. Thankfully the world is full of so many exciting and wonderful things to keep us occupied for all of eternity.

On the other side of that endless supply of attraction is a trade off of sorts. As we all know, right along side attraction comes desire. That’s when it gets to be a bit more difficult. Difficult to not let that attraction for whatever it might be get ahold of us, driving us straight down the road to misery merely because we can’t obtain whatever it is we are attracted to, that thing (or things) we desire.

This isn’t to say that attraction and desire can’t be good things because they surely can be. They give us purpose, drive, motivation, all of those reasons that we need to pursue our goals, to chase after our WHY. Ah yes, our why.

Why do we get up in the morning? Why do we bother to get out of bed? Why do we go to work and struggle through all of lifes trials and tribulations? Why do we continue to ride this roller coaster of highs ‘n lows? If we don’t have a why, we’re pretty much not going to get very far in life….if anywhere at all.

Our why can also be the basis for our goals. Without our goals, how would we ever find a direction, a path in which to begin our journey? Why would we even bother? If there wasn’t anything waiting for us at the end of the rainbow, nothing to achieve, no fuel for our passion, then why even get started. Might as well lay around on the couch all day, doin’ nothin’.

Motivation is also affected by attraction. If we are attracted to something (or someone) we’re much more likely to go after it, to take risks, to go out on a limb to make it happen. Yes, motivation plays a huge part in what we achieve in life and again, without it, tons of couch time is sure to be in our future.

I also believe that the Law of Attraction plays a huge part in our lives. While some of you might think it’s just Mumbo Jumbo, I firmly believe that if you put your effort into thinking positively about what it is you really want out of life rather than concentrating on all the negative stuff you don’t want, your life can and will be changed for the better.

Sure, there’s a pretty good chance that a naked Genie isn’t gonna pop out of a Lamp any time soon but that’s not to say that some good things aren’t bound to come your way. Along with good thoughts, some form of action is also required to make any positive changes in your life but the combination of those two can and will pay huge dividends in your future.

Why not give it a shot? After all, what have you really got to lose anyway? I can’t think of anyone that couldn’t use a bit more good stuff happening in their lives. Even the wealthiest people on earth want more out of life. That’s what keeps them motivated, driven to succeed. They all have a why that drives them to do more, to be more, to live more.

Attraction is also a huge force in our relationships, those that we’ve been in, are currently in and those that we would like to be in. After all, what else motivates us to even think about risking our most precious resource, our hearts, in such a way? If we aren’t attracted to someone, why take a chance on having our hearts stepped on, chopped up, mangled and thrown away like a worthless piece of nothing? Way too risky, wouldn’t you agree?

And knowing this all too well, Match.com just happens to throw some bait our way, telling us “It’s ok to look”, knowing damn well that we’re gonna look! And once we look, we’re pretty much screwed at that point. That’s when good ol’ attraction kicks in and we see someone we want to know better. And then it’s on!

All the inner turmoil begins, the angst, the anxiety, all the questions start brewing in our minds and in our hearts. Should we take it to the next level and contact this person? Lay our hearts on the line? What if they reject us? Even worse, what if they don’t respond at all? Damn attraction! Gets us every time.

While some people find it’s enough for them just to be wanted, to be needed by someone, I myself find that it’s even more difficult to find a connection that is mutual. A connection to where both of us feel the same about each other.

While I might not be the greatest catch in the world, I’m surely not the worst either. At least I hope not anyway. I mean, haven’t you heard about our overcrowded Prison system? Ok then, there’s gotta be someone in there that’s not as dateable as I am. HA!

And so I feel that it’s my decision as to whom I choose to pursue. I truly believe that attraction HAS to be mutual. I think deep down inside we all want someone to desire us and want to be with us as much as we want to be with them. Nothing wrong with that at all.

And I also believe that attraction can’t be manufactured, either it’s there or it isn’t but it it’s not up to us to decide. Like happiness, it’s an inside job and so the Universe is just gonna have to take care of it.

Whether we want to admit it or not, I truly believe that the initial spark as it were has to be there right from the start. We all want butterflies and to a certain degree, we can hope that a caterpillar will eventually do its thing and blossom into a wonderful winged creature, fluttering inside our tummies but still there are no guarantees.

No guarantees that we’ll ever find that mutual attraction. Does it mean that we should settle for less than we want out of a relationship? Should we just give up? In my opinion, hell no! I think that the minute you settle for less, less than what you want, less than what you deserve, you will always be disappointed.

We all want to be loved, it’s only natural and I for one believe that we were never put on this earth to be alone. And it’s attraction that will keep us moving forward on our quest, our quest to find our Life Partner, our Soulmate as it were.

So thankfully, attraction is just there, like a built in GPS. A part of our being, part of our Soul, a driving force within us because without it, we’d surely be lost.

If you have any thoughts on attraction that you’d like to share, I’d enjoy hearing about them in the Comment box below and if you enjoyed this Post, I’d appreciate it if you’d share it with your friends.

Is that so wrong? Too much to ask? It’s the age old battle, I would assume pretty much since the beginning of time. How can I spend my days (or nights) doing what I love, following my passions as opposed to spending an entire lifetime following the rest of the sheep, herded along the freeways, taking the safe road to nowhere and needless to say not too happy about it?

After all, isn’t working at what you enjoy more or less like not working at all? Wouldn’t you much rather spend your days with a big smile on your face as opposed to a permanent frown? I know I would, that’s for sure.

And when you do something you’re passionate about, you end up with a much nicer end result. Such a wonderful feeling of accomplishment from a job well done. Can you just imagine the feeling of never wanting your day to end because you’re having so much fun? Only to be surpassed by the relentless amount of sleepless nights, laying there, so amped up thinking about all the things you want to accomplish the next day.

Heck, who needs an alarm clock when you never actually fall asleep anyway. Hard to imagine lack of sleep being a good thing but I guess in this case it would be.

No doubt that’s the life I wanna live. Knowing that tomorrow is going to be even better than today was. Wouldn’t that be the greatest life ever? I’d have to think so.

OK then, now that we know HOW we want our life to be, how do we go about creating the life of our dreams? In essence, how do we cash in on our passion?

First off, we need to identify what it is we are actually passionate about. Basically it comes down to a matter of deciding what it is you’d look forward to waking up and doing every day, rain or shine, regardless of whether or not you were getting paid to do it.

I can name a few things right off the bat. I’ve always had a passion for Antiques & Collectibles. The thrill of the hunt, the rush of the discovery, the interaction with the current custodian as it relates to purchasing the object, overcoming my overwhelming desire to own every rare antiquity on earth & finding a new caretaker and lastly, the warm ‘n’ fuzzies I get from knowing that my find is on it’s way to a new home, increasing the enjoyment of all others that get to view it. And then the process begins again. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose but it never seems to diminish the thrill of the hunt.

Another dream of mine, ever since I wrote my first short story back in Elementary School has been to be an Author. Most likely fiction but as much as I enjoy writing from my heart, it’s entirely possible that I would also dabble in the non fiction genre a bit.

As I’m sure you can tell I’ve never actually taken any writing classes or pursued writing in any aspect so perhaps it’s the fact that Stephen King and I share the same birthday (NO, not the same year!) that might have something to do with my passion for writing, I’m not exactly sure. One thing’s for certain though, I really love Blogging and would truly enjoy taking it to another level.

I’d have to say that the third thing on my Passion List would be painting Murals. My goal would be to learn how to paint Trompe L’ O’eil, “Trick Of The Eye” Murals for both indoor and outdoor applications. For those unfamiliar with this style of art, in essence it’s creating the realistic feeling of something that although you know darn well it’s not really there, it appears so realistic that you have to question yourself as to what you’re actually looking at.

This can be as simple as a Faux plaster finish on an interior wall, maybe a window with a view of the vineyard in the distance all the way up to a giant hole in the outside wall of a building, thereby allowing a peek inside.

Of course, all of these scenarios are only limited by ones imagination. Unfortunately, this painting technique would require years of training to master and as such will have to remain a ways down on my list of wannados.

Right next to scowering the oceans of the world in search of sunken Spanish Gallions and Pirate Ships. I’m so enthralled by the thought of uncovering undiscovered treasures, one of a kind artifacts, things that mere money can’t buy. I get tingles just thinking about it. I guess I have some sort of an Indiana Jones complex.

So with the last two passions on my list being a bit out of reach (for now) it’s still entirely possible that I could make a go of the other two. I’m enamored with history and to be able to travel the globe in search of the rarest of the rare, only one in existence type items, with unlimited funding from a long list of interested buyers eagerly anticipating my next find would truly be a dream come true.

To peruse thousand year old buildings throughout Europe in search of who knows what and learning everything I can about the countries and their cultures would just be icing on the cake. And then to top it off, if I could write about my adventures along the way, then my life truly would be a dream come true.

So with all that being said, now comes the difficult part. How do I go about creating this so called dream life? How do I bridge the gap between following my passions, in hopes of making money rather than merely trying to find something that will keep me afloat for now. Not just another quick fix, regardless of whether or not I enjoy it. No doubt it’s gonna take a huge leap of faith on my part to even remain focused long enough to give it a shot.

Especially in todays turbulent world, it can be very difficult to risk everything (or in my case what little I have left) to take a chance on living a life full of fun & pleasure. Not that there are any guarantees of making money these days by following a safer, seemingly risk free path yet it can still be much more dangerous to climb out on the ledge and take a serious leap of faith, hoping for a smooth landing.

If you’re anything like me, I grew up thinking that work was a necessary evil we were all forced to endure in order to survive. Definitely not something to look forward to, that’s for sure. Anything you wanted to do or for that matter enjoyed doing would have to be squeezed in after work hours.

Getting over that guilt trip is a challenge in itself. Let alone coming up with a way to monetize my passions. It’s no wonder I never attempted this transition to fun and freedom prior to this, it appears to be a road filled with land mines, all of them just waiting to explode.

Should I even allow myself to dream of such a fantasy life, a life of traveling around the world in search of the unknown? An endless list of anxious buyers, eagerly awaiting my latest Blog Post direct from a beautiful white sand beach in Bora Bora, boasting of all my newly found treasures.

I guess what it truly comes down to is the fact that it’s entirely up to me to change my life. To create the life of my dreams. No one else is gonna do it for me, that’s for sure. In fact I’ve come to realize that mentioning to others about how you plan on changing your life for the better only brings out feelings of animosity and then the negativity begins to flow. “How dare you try to enjoy your life when I’m stuck here at my 9 to 5 job, kids, mortgage, car payments, living paycheck to paycheck and no way out.” At least from those that still have a regular job, not exactly a gimme in todays economy.

I’ve always known that I’m not a 9 to 5er, yet I lived that life for many years. It was a miserable existence and one I’m not the least bit eager to go back to. I enjoyed Real Estate (at least the way it USED to be) but until the R.E. Market comes back, not much guaranteed income there either.

Hmmmmmm, what is it then that I’m really risking here? No wife, no kids, no mortgage (thank you Banks), maybe there really is no better time than now to give this thing a shot. Why not? Why not cash in on my passion? After all, the only thing stopping me….is me.

If you can relate to pursuing your passions, chasing your dreams and living the life you always wanted, I’d enjoy hearing your comments in the box below and if you know of someone struggling with getting out of the rut known as living someone elses idea of how their life should be, I’d appreciate it if you would share this post with them. Thank you.

That’s the only way I can think of to describe it. Something is definitely wrong, that’s for sure. It’s not so much my body clock is off, like I have jet lag or something similar to that but more my mental clock is just totally out of whack. It’s like I’ve lost my mind.

It’s as if two minutes takes half an hour. If you’ve ever had a battery operated clock, perhaps you can relate to what I’m talkin’ about. As the batteries begin to run out of juice, you’ll notice how every few days you seem to have to reset the time as you lose a few minutes each day.

Then finally, you’ll notice the second hand, although doing it’s damndest to get up the hill just can’t seem to make it past the nine before it falls back down below the eight. Struggling again, it attempts to get over the hump but no go. Sure enough, new battery time.

I only wish it was that easy for me. I know my clock is off but it’s not as cut and dry as a battery replacement. I miss a very special someone and it’s totally thrown my clock all outta whack. That’s why I say I must be on football time because it’s as if two minutes takes a friggin’ half an hour to tick by.

Tick……tick……tick……kinda like Chinese Water Torture, bein’ strapped down to a bed of nails while one drip at a time, freezin’ cold water is drippin’ down on my head and I can’t seem to move. Nowhere to hide, even if I could move.

I’m sure you know what I mean. A football game is supposedly an hour worth of play time but between all of the BS, the commercials, replays and officializing the damn game takes three hours or more before it’s over. And since I’m not a huge football fan, sometimes the three hours can feel like six.

This might be ok if you are a Fan or if you like to spend your afternoon gettin’ hammered and yellin’ at the TV but again, just not there for me. That’s probably one reason why I’m not real big on this new schedule I find myself living with. When two minutes takes a half an hour, you can only imagine how long an entire twenty four hour day takes.

Not to mention the fact that my mind is so preoccupied with the object of my desire that what there was of my so called sleep pattern has pretty much been tossed right out the window. When I actually do get to sleep, I find that I can barely squeeze in a few hours and the BAM, wide awake!

Layin’ there, tossin’ and turnin’, concentrating my hardest on falling back asleep but the more I try not to think about her the more I find myself thinkin’ about her. It’s like when someone says to you, whatever you do, DON’T think about such and such and sure enough, no matter how hard you try, you can’t think about anything but exactly what they told you not to think about.

I believe it’s referred to as The Law of Reverse Psychiatry or something close to that anyway. I know it must have some kinda technical term since it’s such a common phenomenon and on of the most studied aspects of the human condition within the online PHD set.

It’s almost like the opposite of A.D.H.D., whereas with A.D.H.D. it’s difficult to stay focused on any one thing for any amount of time. With my ailment, I find it extremely difficult to focus on anything BUT one thing. And one thing only.

I don’t seem to be able to repair my clock, no matter how much I try. And what’s even crazier, I’m not sure I even want to. Well, I wouldn’t mind gettin’ a bit more sleep but as far as totally clearin’ my head altogether, it’s just not possible. No way.

I have WAY TOO MANY hopes and dreams to ever forget about her, even if I did want to. Nope, the impact that she’s had on me is even more than I can begin to describe, let alone figure out how to put a stop to it.

Kinda like Niagara Falls, my feelings just continue to flow, gushing forth with an enormous force. A force so strong that I have a hard time believin’ anything could stop this uncontrollable current of overwhelmingness.

If I had ever been in this position before, perhaps I might have some type of remedy for what ails me but I can honestly say that I’ve never been in this or anything even close to this situation prior to this so I have no idea how to proceed.

I guess all I can do is continue to ride it out, in hopes that at some point in the near future, things will get back on track and my clock will return to keeping normal time. I know there’s only one way for that to happen and to be honest, I think about that very thing happening 24/7. I just can’t help it, she’s always on my mind.

Until I hear a Ref yell “Time Out”, I guess I’ll continue to be on Football Time!

If you can relate to having something so powerful on your mind that you’re not able to turn it off, I’d enjoy hearing about it and if you liked this Post, I’d appreciate it if you’d share it with your friends. Thank you.

Hmmmmmmm, can work actually be fun? Am I really THAT stupid? What kind of a question is that? Of course it can’t. Everybody knows that work HAS to suck. In fact I think it’s one of the Ten Commandments or at the very least it’s written in the Declaration Of Independence.

I know it has to be written down somewhere, some kind of Law that says that work and fun should never coexist. Like oil and water, they just don’t mix, no matter how much you try and shake ‘em up!

In fact, I think work is one of those four letter words that can only be mentioned in certain situations. You know what I’m talkin’ about, the ones that will get your mouth washed out with soap if you utter them in front of the wrong people.

But I find myself questioning this logic. Who started this whole thing of thinking that whatever you do to earn a living has to make you completely miserable? I don’t think it could have started as far back as the Caveman days, could it? I mean, they didn’t really have to earn a living, so to speak. Their main thing in life was survival.

Whether is was scroungin’ around for food or protecting themselves against a low flyin’ Pterodactyl, survival was key. Hmmmm, now that I think about it, perhaps this WAS the first instance of earning a living. After all, you need to be alive to live.

Before the exchange of so called money came into existence, the Barter System was the method of choice for getting ahead in life. If you wanted something, you better have something to trade for it. Which is kinda funny because bartering is still in use today.

In fact, just the other day, I watched a video of a guy that bartered his way from a red paper clip on up to a house. Yes, I said A HOUSE! Which he has since gone on to trade for a Cafe’. It was actually a pretty amazing story, well documented and no doubt he was able to meet so many people and have quite a few great experiences along the way.

I guess some things never get old. Free Trade has been a major building block of the world as we know it. Without it, where would we be today? One can only guess at all the things we wouldn’t be able to enjoy.

Here again though, I’d have to think that this method of survival probably wasn’t a whole lot of fun back in the ol’ days. No doubt either one or both parties would feel as if they got ripped off and wanted to cancel the trade but making somebody mad in those days probably wasn’t a good idea. So what if you ended up with a purple Dinosaur, at least you’d be able to feed your family.

Apparently the first use of an actual Monetary System didn’t come around until about 650 B.C. Perhaps this is when work first began to be considered dreadful. Once you had to break your back for someone else in order to feed your family, I’d have to think this was also about the same time that work became a four letter word. I can hear the bitchin’ and moanin’ from here.

Jeez, if it started this far back, no wonder people are so angry about having to go to work. Generation after generation, passing down their disdain for the mere thought of the word work would no doubt create an endless amount of hatred towards the mere thought alone. Not to mention the actual physical task itself.

Yet work is what me must do. Must do to survive in this world. And for the most part, if we want to get ahead in life, we must work even harder. Therefore it stands to reason that if we want more out of life, it will come at the cost of living an even more miserable existence. Something about this just doesn’t seem very appealing, at least not to me anyway.

Kinda seems like an inspiration killer for the most part. The harder you work, the more miserable you are? Just not making any sense to me. There HAS to be some sort of a mistake here. Who on earth invented this system anyway? Some kind of masochist? Must have been. Nobody in his right mind would have devised such a dream killer.

And to add insult to injury, who came up with this schedule of having to work five days and only have two off? Sounds pretty damn lopsided if you ask me. C’mon, doing something that you absolutely despise for five long, miserable days of the week, only to get two days to attempt some form of recovery and then to go right back to hell for another five days. Obviously this system is seriously flawed.

I wonder if anyone else has realized this? I mean somebody else has to have noticed by now that this entire work thing, this system as it were is messed up and in a big way. And if they have noticed, why on earth haven’t they done something to fix it?

Come to think of it, I guess they tried, if you can call it that. Yeah, they have implemented the four day, ten hours a day, work week in certain instances and while that might help, it’s surely not the best answer.

Either is the telecommuting thing, that’s most likely the best alternative as it eliminates lots of the nightmare of the five day workathon but it doesn’t completely remove the issue of spending your days performing a task that you hate.

So where does that leave us? We know we need money to survive. In most cases, in order to make money, we have to work. Ok, so basically what it breaks down to is we need to work to survive. But where does it say that we have to hate what we do for work?

I checked out the Ten Commandments and didn’t see anything about it in there. Same with the Declaration, nothing there either. I even went as far as Googling MUST HATE YOUR JOB and couldn’t find anything anywhere that stated that you must be miserable for a minimum of forty hours per week, half days on Saturdays and most Holidays when the rest of your family is at the beach. Nope, nothin’.

Then how did all of this BS get started in the first place? Perhaps it was handed down to us by our parents? That along with all the other outside influences that helped shape our upbringing, who undoubtedly passed down the information that they received as children.

Who knows, maybe it was our own assumption, based on seeing just how unhappy our parents were Monday through Friday and realizing at an early age just how precious the weekends were. How those two days were the reward for surviving the previous five days.

Regardless of how it happened, we grew up knowing that work must suck. No doubt whatsoever. That’s why it’s called work instead of fun. Notice the different amount of letters in each word? Yes, work is a four letter word and fun isn’t. I have a feelin’ it was planned that way.

Ok then, what are we gonna do about this? Nothing? Just continue on status quo? Or can we change this entire scenario around so that we’re able to enjoy our work? Yes, I said it. Crazy as it may seem, I believe there is a great possibility of earning a living while doing something that you truly enjoy.

Stay with me on this. Think about it for just a second. Is it entirely out of the realm of possibility to believe that you could make money doing something you enjoy? Of course not. Think about all of those people all over the world, right now, who are making a living doing what it is that you like to do. So why NOT you? Why not just go for it? What’s stopping you?

Even if you start off on a small scale, kind of a part time thing, just pick something you enjoy doing and get started doing it. After hours, evenings, weekends, doesn’t really matter. While we all say that we don’t have any extra time as it is, I think you’ll find that even if you just sacrifice a couple hours of TV here ‘n there, you’ll be surprised at all you can get accomplished.

Just get going on something that you’re passionate about and see where it takes you. I’ll bet the next thing you know, you’ll be making other sacrifices to allow you more time to pursue your dream. I promise it will be so worth it.

Before you know it you’re rollin’ and you’ll find that there just isn’t enough time in a day to do all you want to do towards accomplishing your goal. And let me tell you, that’s a great problem to have. Next thing you know, you’ll actually be enjoying your weekdays! Maybe even more than your weekends. Can you even imagine that? Getting to a point where your weekends are more stressful than your weekdays? Who’d a thunk it!

So if you find that you’re like most everyone else out there, at least those that still have jobs and dread Mondays more than anything, maybe it’s time you started thinking of work as anything but a four letter word.

If you can relate to work being a nightmare, I’d enjoy hearing about it in my comments and if you enjoyed this Post, I’d appreciate it if you’d share it with your friends. Thank you.

OK, so I might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I’d like to think I’m smart enough to know when to give up, to throw in the towel so to speak. I mean, isn’t there like some kind of a signal from above, some sort of a sign to let us know when it’s time to bail?

Lately, well I really shouldn’t say lately as this has been a situation that I’ve been struggling with for quite some time now. And no doubt I’m not the only one who battles this dilemma on a regular basis. Surely it’s a question people have been asking themselves since the beginning of time. When is it ok to give up?

When is it finally ok to say to yourself, enough is enough, I’m done fighting this battle, there’s just no way it’s ever gonna happen, no possibility whatsoever of it ever coming true?

Now, when I say it, basically that could mean anything, from your hopes and dreams to your aspirations, your goals, anything in your life that you strive for. Anything that you’re motivated about, anything you hope to accomplish.

Well, I for one am not so sure there is a certain point that defines the perfect time to give up. Nope, I don’t think it’s gonna be that easy. Wouldn’t that be great if it were that cut ‘n dry?

Oh heck yeah, it sure would. If everything in life had a time limit on it then you’d know when to say when, you’d know when you could just say enough is enough, pick up your toys and go home.

At least it would give you a point of reference to look forward to and your goals could be so much more manageable knowing that you only had to put in a certain amount of effort for a specified amount of time and whatever the results were, you would know that you did the best you could with the amount of time that you had available.

And after your time expired, you were in essence off the hook. Good, bad or otherwise, wherever you stood at that point was just going to be the way it is. Dang, that sounds easy doesn’t it? How sweet would it be to have everything in your life mapped out for you like that?

But on the other hand, how boring it would be as well. Not that you’d know the exact outcome of everything in your future, but you’d have a pretty close guesstimate. And you could almost predict your future just by altering the amount of effort you put forth. Yep, BORING CENTRAL!

Well then, without an expiration date of sorts, how are we supposed to know when it’s ok to quit trying? To let go of our dreams. Is there a certain amount of times that we have to be told “NO, you can’t do this …. can’t have that ….. can’t date her …..”, whatever the case may be? And if so, what gives someone else the authority to tell us that we can’t anything?

Nope, I don’t see that working either. If you’re anything like me and absolutely hate to quit trying, at anything, then I’m sure you’ll agree that the last thing you want is someone telling you what to do. Telling you basically when it’s ok to officially become a failure. No thanks, not gonna work for me, that’s for sure.

Sheesh, it sounds like quitting isn’t gonna be as easy as everyone says it is. I mean, doesn’t everybody say that quitting is the easy way out? That’s the way I heard it anyway. I’m beginning to get the impression that they’re completely wrong about it.

I also seem to recall hearing something about quitters being losers. Nobody wants to be referred to as a loser, do they? I would have to imagine that it wouldn’t be a sought after title, that’s for sure.

They only positive quote I’ve ever heard in regards to quitting was the often used and well worn “Sobriety is for quitters.” I guess that’s about one of the only times it’s good to be a quitter. No doubt you could also include all of the other vices in the same sentence and they’d all make sense. But other than those few, being a quitter is nothing to be proud of.

Yet there must come a time that we have to face the music, read the writing on the wall and come to a point that we just have to stop trying. The intersection of lack of effort and giving up, that ugly as hell place known as failure. Correct?

I think, in fact I know that that’s exactly where I have to say “No, I don’t agree.” For me failure is a huge problem, a bitter pill that I am unable to swallow, no matter what the situation.

Is it fear of looking like an idiot, a fool? That could be part of it, more than likely a huge part. But for me it’s more of an inside thing. While it does bother me to have others see me as a failure of sorts, as someone that didn’t accomplish their goals, it’s ME that I’m truly concerned about. How will I feel about ME if I give up, if I quit trying. If I just don’t give it my all and do my best.

I guess I’ve been out to prove something (not exactly sure what that something is) my entire life. My Father, in his attempts to get me to do my best, tried to beat perseverance into me, one swing of the belt at a time but what he failed to realize was that being the best I could be was already ingrained in me from my first breath. I knew no different.

It wasn’t anything that he had to instill in me, anything he had to force upon me, I wanted to, no, I needed to do my best. In every circumstance, in every situation. Sure, like any other kid, I was hoping for my Dads approval. Hoping to make Dad proud and also hoping for a miracle. The miracle of him saying “Good job son, I’m proud of you.”

Of course, as I would come to learn, that wasn’t gonna happen but that never stopped me from wanting to do my best. At everything I ever did. Not that I can honestly say that I always did my best but there’s no doubt in my mind that I always wanted to.

Call it pride, or ego, or just plain being a perfectionist, any way you choose to look at it, I’ve always demanded the most out of myself. No doubt I’m my own worst critic. Noone can be any harder on me …. than ME. That’s why giving up isn’t an option.

I also have someone very special watching over me from up above that would surely be disappointed in me if I ever gave up and there’s just no way I ever want to let her down.

So where exactly does that leave me? If I can’t give up, if I can’t allow myself to quit, am I doomed to a life of never reaching my goals, never accomplishing what I want in life? Jeez, I sure hope not.

But at the same time, to just quit trying would surely mean that I would never realize my dreams. At least if I keep trying, there’s a small, miniscule chance of good things happening. Sure, along with that chance comes loads of despair and disappointment but with that 1% possibility of something good happening in my life, something finally going my way, I’m unable to just take the hint and walk away.

One of my favorite sayings and to be honest, I’m not even sure it’s an actual quote and if so, who even said it but it goes something like this. *You can never ever give up because you don’t know who or what is waiting for you just around the next corner*.

I think that quote says so much about perseverance, forging ahead in the face of adversity and just never giving up, NO MATTER WHAT! And with these words as my mantra I will continue to forge ahead, knowing that good things are waiting ahead for me. It’s only a matter of time.

If you can relate to wanting to just give up at times or perhaps, like me, unable to know when it’s ok to give up, I’d enjoy hearing about it and if you enjoyed this Post, I’d appreciate it if you’d share it with your friends. Thank you.