by Kaushik Guha

Created on: July 03, 2009   Last Updated: July 12, 2009

Yesterday I was having a chat with a friend and I casually mentioned that I had joined Toastmasters to become a professional speaker.He said "That's great, try it out. You will know very soon if it's for you or not." And I thought, whoa! Wait. That's not a nice way to think; try it out, go through a few sessions, make a random decision if I am cut out for it based on those half-hearted efforts and then (most probably) quit!

If this is the way things were done, nobody would ever take up anything challenging or pursue a new direction in life unless they absolutely had to.
Yet we see examples of this kind of behavior all the time. A person is considering money making options. His friend talks him into investing in the stock market. He gets excited, invests some money, and makes a small profit. Excited still, he makes a bigger investment and loses all of his profit. And he concludes "This is not for me. I am better off the way I am. I simply am not cut out for this kind of thing."

You see this all the time don't you? Overweight people joining the gym and quitting after one month because they have decided based on some random reasons that this is not for them. Socially shy and introverted people trying to go out and meet people giving up after a week and going back to their video-game-world because they decided this was not for them. "I am not the kind of person that goes out to parties. I just want peace "

How many times have you given up on a new habit because you told yourself that this kind of thing was not for you or that you were not made for this kind of thing? If you had not given up, where would your life be now? Would it be more fun, adventurous and more in line with your wants? What makes you think you know your potential so well as to decide what is fit for you based on a few attempts? The general rule that you unconsciously follow in this regard is this: Whatever is uncomfortable is not for me if I can avoid it. Are you conscious this is the rule you are using to kick opportunities out of your life?

Next time when you decide to do something new, as it becomes challenging and painful, catch yourself as soon as you are about to go " this is not for me"
What you actually would say is, "This is not for the old me, the me that never exercises, never goes out and never considers money-making options.The new me that I am creating through this new behavior is good enough for anything. "

Take pride in this new self image. And keep moving through the discomfort until you reach your goal.

Do not Quit.

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