Friday, July 18, 2014

Don't Quit

"Give me your very best! Don't quit on me! Your very best!"

The other day I watched the movie "Facing the Giants" with my husband. I forgot just how inspirational that movie is. If you have never seen it, I highly recommend it. It is packed full with some very valuable lessons for all of us.



One of the most powerful scenes in the movie for me was when the coach has one of his players do the "Death Crawl." He challenges his player to carry another player on his back to the 50 yard line- blindfolded. The player thinks he can make it to the 30 yard line, maybe the 50 if he had no one on his back.

He agrees to do the challenge anyway, and the coach simply asks him to give his very best. In the end, the coach is down on his hands and knees, encouraging his player to keep going, to not give up, to give everything he's got, and not to quit.



The player thought he could only make it to the 30 yard line. Blindfolded, he made it across the entire field with another player on his back. He went exponentially farther than he ever thought he could. He gave his best, even when it was hard, when it hurt, and when he wanted to give up.

There are so many circumstances in our lives where we limit what we think we can do. We put a limit on ourselves and allow too many excuses.

"Well, maybe if this were different, I could do that."
"It's just too hard to do that."
"I don't think I could do it."
"Someone else is better at that than me."

Even if we don't vocalize these thoughts, they are there in our mind, only limiting ourselves. Already defeated. Already failing, simply because we have not tried.

I saw a great quote the other day that "The only way you can fail is if you give up."



How many times have we written ourselves off before we have even attempted something? I know that I have- countless times. COUNTLESS. How many times have I quit half way in because it just seemed too hard, or the reward not near enough? Countless. How many times have I not given my best, because it seems like someone else's best is better than mine? Countless.

But you know what? We were not made to quit. We were not made to give up. We were not made only to put in half our effort.

You were made to live, you were made to be strong and courageous. To stand firm.

I'm telling you now- get rid of that self defeating mindset. It will keep you in chains the rest of your life, no matter what area of life you allow it in.

I challenge you today to challenge your own view of yourself. Try these 3 steps to take action against those areas of self defeat today.

1. Find one area where you are self defeated. Where do you talk down to yourself? (Oh, you can't do that. Well, maybe I'll try it a different day. I just need this circumstance to line up.) Write the area down. Recognize the issue.

2. Write down WHY you feel defeated. Write down at least 5 reasons you feel defeated about the issue. This may be a hard one. It's hard and can hurt to dig up the real root of the issue. Are you afraid of failure? Do you think you're not good enough? Are you afraid of what will happen after that?

3. Write down AFFIRMATIONS. Now I want you to take those 5 reasons you just wrote and flip them around. If you wrote "I am afraid of failure" I want you to write "I can and will succeed." If you wrote "The timing just isn't right." I want you to write "Timing will never be perfect, the time IS NOW." And so forth. Take what you wrote and write the opposite, speak positive life over yourself.

Be encouraged that you are not alone in self defeat. I have struggled with it so much in my life, and still do at times. But I also know the power of changing your mindset and shifting away from the negative to the positive. It can make a world of difference!

If you have never seen the movie "Facing the Giants" I really encourage you to check it out! Share your thoughts on the movie below, and if you're brave enough, share one way you turn around self defeat in your life. 

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