Giving Up Too Early

Following on from my last blog post where I detailed the third of seven common things that hamper people in making significant change (see (7 Errors of Change: No.3: All or Nothing Mentality), here is my description of the fourth error of change - Giving Up Too Early - and what you can do about it:

Error No. 4: Giving Up Too Early

People who give up smoking normally make several attempts before they are successful. The same is often true of people trying to change habitual ways of thinking or reacting to situations. It is also often said that perseverance is the most needed quality of people who want to develop their own businessess. There is some truth in this, athough blind perseverance will not usually help (!) (i.e. continually doing the same things which has produced negative results in the past will probably lead to negative results again).

If you think that you have a tendency to give up too early then try the following:

• Consciously remind yourself to allow for that fact that change may take time and be patient.

• Learn from your mistakes  - If something didn't work, ask yourself what went wrong. What can you do differently next time? If you are not sure, then this may be when you could benefit from the support of a coach or someone else independent.

• Recognise the progress you have made. You may not have got to your original desired goal but that doesn't mean you have achieved nothing. What steps forward have you made compared to your original starting point? How have you developed as a person? Acknowledge any positive changes and ask how you can build on them.

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