This story has been in the news the last couple of days and I thought it would be applicable here as well.  A 64-year-old woman swam 110 miles from Cuba to Florida.  Ok, that’s pretty good, right?  She also became the first person to do so without a shark cage.  That means no man has ever done that before.  EVER.  And she was not successful on her first trip out, nor her second, not even her third and she also failed on her fourth attempt as well.  But she NEVER quit.  I am not saying she didn’t want to, but something — that inner drive — kept her going.  She refused to give up.  What motivates someone to never quit?  When the odds are against them and knowing that they had failed before (four times before)?  Knowing that this accomplishment had NEVER been done before?  Have you ever failed at something and wanted to quit?  Yeah…me, too.  Maybe ever failed at something, but kept fighting for it?  Been there, too.  You know, sometimes the way we see something or want something to be accomplished is not the way that makes us successful.  We have to be open to new ideas and even if they don’t work the first time or even the second time, it doesn’t mean it will never work.  But do you quit too soon?  Do you stop trying because it is hard and it makes you uncomfortable?  Do you let “it” win?  Ever wanted something so badly and all you could do is watch it slowly fall apart and disintegrate, like shards of a glacier slowly falling into the ocean and then all at once, a large chunk crashes down, splashing water everywhere and sending people for cover?  Do you have anything going on in your life that you feel like you cannot fix and you want to just throw in the towel?  What if you quit and then found out you were as close as you can be to success but still fail?  I remember when I lost weight and I was asked if I would consider losing 28 pounds of 30 a success or failure.  At that time, I said failure.  Not anymore.  If I was asked that same question today, I would have said success.  Where you see yourself will always decide what you do next and whether you decide to get up and try again, despite the failure or if you are done for good.  Keep trying.  Never ever give up.  Maybe give someone else a chance to help you succeed.  No person ever succeeds on their own, but plenty fail by themselves.  To get you in the mood to keep going…this song will make everyone believe in never giving up… Theme song from Rocky

Michelle A. Homme 2013 ©