Chasing our dreams and goals is never going to be an easy ride. We are bound to get exhausted, overwhelmed, frustrated and even have thoughts of giving up. When I go through this gamut of feelings, I know it is time to take a break to reset, readjust, refocus and restart.
Dale Carnegie used to tell a story about two woodsmen who spent the day chopping firewood. One of them took frequent breaks–every hour or so, he’d stop and take a break. The other worked all day chopping wood, only taking a single, long break to eat.
At the end of the day, the woodsmen who had taken the frequent breaks had chopped almost twice as much wood as the worker who didn’t rest. The obsessive woodsmen asked the one who took frequent breaks how he’d managed to be so much more productive.
The other woodsmen replied, “Didn’t you notice that every time I took a break, I sharpened my axe?”
Yes, we do need to take breaks to sharpen our axe!
This poem by Edgar Guest gives me enough motivation to keep going when the going gets tough
Don’t Quit
Edgar A. Guest
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit –
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns.
As everyone of us sometimes learns.
And many a fellow turns about when he
Might have won had he stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow –
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than it seems
To a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up when he
Might have captured the victor’s cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out –
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And when you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit –
It’s when things seem worst,
You must not quit.
Of course it is also important to know that It’s ok to give up on your dreams. We are all meant to fly, it just takes time to earn our wings
Kenrick Vaz 