Giving in or giving up
They are not the same thing, by the way.
Giving in means you need some skill or idea you currently don’t possess. It might be a matter of time and some thought to come up with a new idea. It might be time spent reading a book or even watching a movie. You might need a nap.
Giving up is quitting. Closing the door and walking away.
Let me tell you a story about giving in. It was about 1986 as I recall. I was a software engineer and I was creating my first big program. It was a new design, the first time we’d done this sort of work, in house. I was writing a control program for Honda of America, to paint their cars in Marysville, OH.
We had to work on a running production line so that meant we only worked at night. My shift was from 6 PM to 6 AM. All night. Trying to work that shift while sleeping (or not sleeping) in a hotel was a challenge, to say the least.
I’d been doing it for weeks.
One night, I was trying to debug a problem in the color change system to allow us to change color from one car to the next. The change had had to be completed in about 8 seconds and it wasn’t working. I was stuck at about 3 AM trying to figure it out. I was on a noisy production floor, it was hot but behind me was the air makeup fan and it was cooler so I was leaning back and about that time the project manager walked up.
I have the gift of discernment and I could tell he was not happy 😠. Actually, that was obvious to everyone, not just me. As he strutted up to me I leaned forward to hear what he wanted but I really already knew, it was to run another test but I was not ready to do that. I’d been working on the same problem for about 3 hours and wasn’t any closer to a solution.
He asked me what I was going to do about it.
After a pause of a few seconds, I said: “I’m going to go get some sleep.” His response was abrupt, sarcastic and loud. He said: “Well, what do you suggest we do while you’re gone?”
I said: “I’d suggest you all go get some sleep too”, and I left.
Long story short, I did get some sleep, came in the next night and fixed the problem in about 15 minutes. I gave in and it worked out for all of us.
My point is don’t give up. Not if you want to succeed. Giving in leaves the door open and you can come back when you’re ready. Take a break, go for a walk, journal it out but don’t give up.
When I was new in the real estate business and before I figured out how to work by referral, I journaled almost every day. One day, I picked up a journal from a few months back and I saw a recurring theme I didn’t like.
I wrote almost every day “Don’t Quit” in some form. I was focused on the quit part way too much and that day I turned a corner.
If you’re struggling and need to talk to someone, I’m here. I’ll talk with you.
I mean it.
If you want to schedule a 30-minute call you can click on this link. It will take you to a calendar where you can request a 30-minute time block. I’ll accept and we’ll get on zoom to talk face to face.
It’s free and it might just help if you’re stuck. No strings, no pitch, just someone to listen and maybe get you unstuck. I’m here if you want to reach out.
I hope you will.
Thanks for listening,
Jerry Robertson
678-616-1578 Direct Line