What Ever It Takes - Don't Give Up

Some times you start out on something, you're all fired up, but at some point you start to bog down. Things aren't going the way you expected and it is really starting to require some effort. What do you do? Throw in the towel? Give up?

Sometimes you do need a break, you do need to walk away and clear your head before you can return with refreshed vigour.

When you are in charge of your own project, there is no boss standing behind you with the whip, urging or threatening you to go on. You're it. You know when you've put in the full effort, the 110%. You also know when you've performed under par. You might be able to convince others, you did your best, but you still have to live with you, and the results of actions.

You will only get as far as the effort you put in. Reality TV isn't reality. It is a short hour long program (less if you exclude advertisments) that shows you the choicest moments. It leaves out the drudgery, the boredom, the aches, the pains, fatigue, that, "when will I ever get there?".

Reaching your goal requires you to keep focused on what you desire and persist through the dull periods. It is not those points in time that require super human feats that usher in success. It is the patience, the persistence to continue in those flat periods of deflation after expending your energy in the big effort. In sports they refer to it as the pain barrier, the massive exertion, and then comes the elation (endorphins), but after a while that wears off and you're back to the grind.

If we set micro goals, we can find the physical and mental energy to persist. It is a matter of setting our perspectives to kick into action our natural responses. We all know the supreme efforts we can put in when faced with a deadline. But rather than waiting until the end, if set intermediate finishing lines, we can turn on our focus and energy, to persist just that bit further.

Reaching that micro goal is almost as powerful as achieving the final one. We get that hit of elation that we made it. We can then look ahead and see how much nearer we are to our final goal, because, up ahead is our next micro goal.

You can apply this to anything you are doing, your office work, a marathon or even a painting. To make it really work you you need to make your micro goals, challenging, specific, immediate and actionable.

This is how I get through tough periods with painting. A career as an artist means you are in it for the long haul. The success doesn't come over night, it is something that slowly builds. I was once told, that you are considered a young artist  up until age 35. Before 45 you are an emerging artist, and thereafter you might be acclaimed as an established artist. 

Why such long stretches? Because people in the art world know all too well how easy it is for people to start, but then give up when things are not progressing as they see fit. For some, art is a long term investment. They want to know that you're going to stick with what you started.

I'm in my art for me. I have already been engaged with it for some time. I have my periods of doubt, but I also have achieved some of my micro goals and there are many more ahead of me. I am in it for the long haul. What ever it takes, I'll reach standards I aspire to.

"What Ever It Takes", Leo Plaw, 24 x 30cm, oil on canvas

Leave a comment below, upvote and resteem if you like it.
More of my artwork can be found on my website. LeoPlaw.com
And if it takes your fancy, subscribe to my newsletter.