Don’t we all love short-term goals and instant gratification? Isn’t it just great when you say “I’m going to do X!” and then “X” happens and you feel an amazing sense of accomplishment and achievement?

But what about all those times (and there are waaaay too many to count) when things don’t quite go as planned and your first instinct is to throw in the towel and scream (in case anyone is actually listening) “I’M DONE!”

We’ve ALL been there, and it sucks, so here are…

8 Crucial Tips for Never Giving Up! … even when you really, REALLY want to.

1.  Practice Perseverance

It is widely documented that most failures happen because people give up too soon. They don’t get exactly what they want, exactly when they want it, so they give up. And this is why we need to practice perseverance.

Perseverance is a skill that can be learned and is defined as the ‘steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state… especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.’

Dopamine (the happy hormone that is released in our brain) is what keeps us motivated and focused. And Christopher Bergland in his article “The Neuroscience of Perseverance,” states “You have the power to increase your production of dopamine by changing your attitude and behaviour.”

Isn’t that great news?! You can actually learn to trigger a dopamine release by changing your attitude about a certain situation, which will help you persevere and keep moving towards your goal. Yay!

2.  Work On Your Physical

OK, so this one is a no-brainer. Everyone knows that physical exercise stimulates not only your body, but your mind as well. Keeping yourself active will allow you to practice perseverance, as discussed above, which eventually will make you a Pro at never giving up. (Plus it helps to have a trainer next to you yelling, ‘One more rep!’)

Physical work is actually ALL about mental strength and the mental strength will help you with the next point…

3.  Achievement Breeds Achievement

It’s important to start achieving – every single day!  Achievement breeds achievement because, when you achieve something (anything), you feel good about yourself, your confidence in your ability increases and your comfort zone expands. It’s the motivation of achievement that breeds more achievement, which is actually the opposite of giving up.

4.  Get Inspired By Others

I talk about inspiration from others a lot as I think it’s unbelievably powerful. Riding the wave of inspiration from other peoples’ achievements will also help to push you towards your own goals.  There are so many ordinary people achieving extraordinary things to be inspired by, and you can absolutely be one of those people too!

Here are some of my favourites:

• Watch the Pursuit of Happiness movie
• Read an inspirational biography
• Search Google for success stories consistent with your journey

5.  Have a Damn Good Rant – (then move the hell on!)

Sometimes you just need to have a bloody good rant to someone – but that someone needs to be someone special.  Why?  Because they can listen, they can even agree with you at times, but at the end they don’t buy into your B.S.  At the end of your whinging and your excuses, they need to be the person who will pull you up and get you back on track.

Isn’t that what friends are for?

6.  Visualise the End

This is a really important technique for not giving up – make sure you can see the end result.  Create a vision board, a scrapbook or whatever you need to do, to ensure that your end goal is real in your eyes. As long as it’s a tangible goal, you will always keep moving towards it because you know what it will look like when you eventually get there – and it’ll be awesome!

7.  Tell EVERYONE. Get Accountable.

Accountability is one of the most powerful techniques I know for achieving goals, and telling everyone is a great way to instill this accountability.

If you’re going to run a marathon – tell everyone you are going to run a marathon and then book the date.  If you are going to lose 10 kilos then tell everyone that is what you are doing.  We can often talk ourselves out of things, but nothing stops you from picking up that cream bun more than knowing that the people around you are also watching.

8.  Get A Reality Check on Life

You are SO lucky to be in a position where you can choose which goals you want to achieve.  Consider that there are many people that would be thrilled to have the opportunity to start a business, run a marathon, write a book, change jobs – or whatever else it is that you want to achieve. Be grateful for the circumstances you are in because it is always possible to find a silver lining.

And every once in a while, remember to take a look behind you at the path you’ve travelled. It’s always harder to give up when you realise how far you’ve come.

You are one awesome Biz Mum in this massive world of over 7.5 billion people.  Celebrate your uniqueness and what motivates you, then just get on with it and do your thing!

You already know that anything worth going for, is definitely worth fighting for.  It may not be easy but remember that all the ‘inspirational’ people of the world achieving goals and not giving up… are just like you!  No smarter, no better, no magical powers.  They just kept on going and achieved their goals.

And you can too, if you remind yourself to Never Give Up!

Meet Jodie

Jodie Bruce-Clarke is an author, speaker and coach specialising in helping women increase their confidence. She is the co-owner of Rise Women and her book ‘Pumped: Confidence Techniques that will have you Standing Taller in the World’ is a ‘must-read’.

Website: www.risewomen.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/risewomen1/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/risewomen