Monday motivation: know when to slow down, stop, or keep going

October 5, 2009 | Filed Under Consider this, monday motivation 

Last week, I seriously contemplated opting out of this two-year Master’s program I just started a month ago. In theory, it’s a great program and an excellent opportunity. It’s not that it’s not; I use “in theory” because it may or may not be right for me. I’ll be passionate about it every once in a while for a moment, but the excitement always seems to dissipate leaving me wondering if I really want to go down this path.

I was pretty close to pressing the brakes last week. Some understood how I felt and some encouraged me to give it more thought. Down to the wire at a possibly pivotal moment, I decided to make the decision pressure-free and trudge along for now. That meant a weekend of relatively no sleep as I prepared to complete this assignment I grossly over-exaggerated. Hours before my deadline, I realized my error, both in horror and relief. Horror because relaxation, sleep, and the comfort of completion could’ve been my friends much sooner and relief because I think I would’ve missed the deadline. What I built into a high hurdle would’ve only really required a little jump. If I would’ve quit and realized this after the fact, regret would’ve probably accompanied that decision.

Lessons learned:

• Know when to slow down, stop, and keep going.

  I needed to keep going…and fortunately, did.

• Stop torturing yourself by making things more complicated than they are or need to be.

  Yeah. Just don’t do it.

Sometimes you’ll want to quit and you’ll just need to slow down. Sometimes you’ll want to keep going, and you’ll need to quit. Sometimes you’ll want to slow down and you’ll need to keep going. Pay attention to how it all feels.

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