Schoolwork and making good grades usually came easily to me. When I was in high school, I met a higher-level science class which became a struggle. My grade was not at the level I was used to, and I resigned myself to acceptance. My (very wise) mom told me I could do better. She suggested I speak to the teacher, explaining that schoolwork normally came easily, and that I didn’t understand what I was doing wrong. I did so, he helped me, my grade improved to its usual level, and he became a good friend and mentor. My mom then imparted an important lesson, which she reiterated many more times to me since then:
Do your very best, always. No matter what you do, give your best effort and do the best you can do.
I encounter clients, colleagues, business owners and leaders, and friends who often want to give up on something that isn’t working. I still find myself wanting to do the same, too. My advice to those who seek it on how to exit a situation that isn’t working?
Have you fully engaged? Have you given it your best effort? Have you tried XYZ?
It’s foolish to walk away from something that isn’t working because we haven’t given it the energy, effort, focus, and investment necessary for success. We essentially haven’t even tried, yet we’re writing the endeavor off.
What if we invested more heavily instead? What if we tried our very hardest and gave our very best effort?
We never control the outcome, but we always control the effort. There’s something very Stoic philosophy about this, too…we only control our inputs, our efforts.
Before you quit, give it your very best. And if you’ve already given up on something, is there more effort you can apply to it before walking away completely?
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