Thoughts on giving up...

Photo by yours truly. Check out the crescent moon!

Sometimes you feel like you want to give up. I know I do.

No matter the goal, in the short term it's way easier to throw in the towel and say: "Screw it! I'm going to spend that $40 or eat that fried chicken or have that third glass of wine!". And you know what? Life is meant to be lived, y'all, don't get me wrong.

However, in the long term, whatever goal that was that you abandoned will curl into a corner of your brain and peck at your self-esteem until it gets your attention again.

Don't give up. Whether it's saving for a new apartment, losing the freshman 15 (or a 30 year old's twenty...ahem), going back to get your degree, dealing with the loss of a loved one, a divorce, or trying to talk to your teenager...the plowing through means you are in the mire- that's that hard part that happens before it gets better! That means better is around the corner. That's called hope.

My mom has this wonderful saying/philosophy what-have-you that I've passed on to friends going through trying times or just having a hard time sticking to a goal, the idea of it is this:

When a jet is about to break the sound barrier, it shakes violently.

It rattles the screws and it feels like everything is going to break 

apart from the effort. Then...boom. The sound barrier is broken.

When shit gets real, y'all, or if you're just feeling too tired from a long day at work and school and well, life- remember that. You can't break the sound barrier if you're sitting on your ass, placating some little voice in your head that says you aren't worth it. You gotta do something about it and face those tremors, rattling screws and mire to get those truly badass results. And you are worth it, by the way. 

I hope you have a truly wonderful day.