When You Feel Like Quitting...

Ever since my traveler's blog to India, these posts are seemingly becoming more and more metacognitive (that is, I am getting as much out of writing them as I hope you are getting by reading them).

This week I want to discuss something that you have probably experienced before. This thing is perhaps one of the most difficult decisions you will have to make because there really is no way to know for sure if you should do it or not. What am I talking about? 

The urge to quit. 

Earlier today I was reading a blog post about when to know it's time to quit. As you probably remember from last week's post, I've been going through a lot of personal stuff, most of which has been strenuous and tiring.

Well, I'm not going to lie, staying on track has been difficult; not only with school and work but with this as well. Earlier today I found myself wondering if maybe it was time to call it quits for this blog. Yes, honestly, I was considering if it was time for me to give-up which was why I read that blog post.

Well obviously, I didn't quit and here's why:

I strongly believe in what I've been doing with Level-Up Proficiency and when you strongly believe in something or passionately want something you shouldn't give up on it.

Similar to last week's post, this post is not directly related to improving your English proficiency, but I'm going to continue writing as if you are considering giving up on improving your English. However, the reasons I discuss can be applied to anything you are considering giving up on.

1. Remember why you started.

Before you decide to call it quits, take some time to reflect on the reasons why you started. Maybe you realized that in order to get that promotion you need to improve your English proficiency. Maybe you were told that you need to improve your English. Maybe you were fed up with people unfairly judging you based on your grammatical errors--hey, it happens. Whatever the reason was, take a few moments to remember the reason or reasons you started this journey.


2. Remember what you want.

This is very similar to the first reason, but it could help if you remember what it is you want to accomplish by improving your English proficiency. Do you want more money? Do you want to be seen as more respectable? Do you want to reach a higher level of success? In other words, what do you ultimately hope to gain by improving your English? Spend a few moments thinking about what it is what want to accomplish and then think how your life will be impacted if you quit. What will or won't happen?

3. Are you still enjoying the learning process?

Regardless of what you are doing, life is a never-ending lesson. We are constantly learning new things every single day; some of these things we enjoy and some we don't. So the question you need to ask yourself before you quit is "am I still enjoying what I'm learning?" If the answer is yes then it might be worth spending a few moments reflecting on numbers one and two, however, if the answer's no, then you might want to ask yourself number four.

4. Have your views changed?

Change is the only constant in life. Everything changes and interests are no exception. Have your opinions about improving your English proficiency changed? Have you figured out a different way to get the promotion you want? Are you not using your improved proficiency as much as you initially thought you would? If your views have changed then it might be time to reconsider things. If they haven't though then it might be worth spending some time reflecting.

5. Are people rooting for you?

Of course, it'll be easier to not give-up if there is someone insisting that you improve your proficiency; that is, someone holding you accountable to hanging in there. So before you decide to throw in the towel, try to think if there's anyone who has a vested interest in your success. Maybe your mom's counting on you to get that promotion. Maybe your friends are relying on you for support in their journey. Maybe a professor or mentor is going out of their way to provide extra support to see you succeed.

---------

I think a good exercise to do before you decide to give something up is to write down the answers to these five questions. Really think long and hard before you make your final decision because, yes, quitting may seem like the right thing to do or the easier option, but I guarantee that if you spend some time really thinking it over, you might see that it actually isn't the right choice. 

In my case, it seemed at first that this blog was the one thing I could afford to give-up on, but after taking the necessary time to reflect on my decision, I realized that it wasn't something I was willing to let go. I remembered the reasons why I started, I remembered my goals, I remembered how much I enjoy writing these posts and how much I like helping people improve their English. I remembered all these things and suddenly the idea of quitting seemed absurd. 

You see, we all think about giving-up sometimes. There's no shame in it. But just make sure you really think about the pros and cons before actually doing it.

Let us know what you think in the comments. Have you ever considered giving-up on improving your English? Have you ever considered giving-up on something else? If you have any questions or concerns email us at levelupproficiency@gmail.com or visit our website.

Ryan M. Shea, English Proficiency Specialist 
www.levelupproficiency.com