How Do You Keep Going When All You Want to Do is Quit?

If there's one thing I'm learning from writing this blog, it's perseverance. I've committed to a weekly blog, and so here I am back at the keyboard. I've been writing this for a few weeks and although I find it enjoyable and a learning experience, I wonder sometimes whether anyone out there is reading it. Maybe folks are just "liking" the post on Facebook, but not actually opening the link. Hard to tell if no one comments. So why do I do it?

The simple answer is I have a goal to broaden my social media presence. The "how-to" information on marketing says this is important for an author. I don't know if prospective agents or editors will look me up and read the blog or not, but I wonder what they will think. "Good writing, but absolutely no followers. Hmm. Maybe this author won't be able to help market her book. Too bad." And they move on to the next author who has a blog with hundreds of followers and lots of comments. 

Keeping On

But I'm not sitting on the other side of the publishing table. All I can do is keep at it, even if I don't know how the author thing will turn out. The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica, "Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring (2 Thessalonians 1:4)." It seems perseverance is a noble activity, a keeping on in the midst of troubles in order to reach a worthwhile goal. 

At this point, I think we need to check our goals: 

• Is what you want a worthwhile thing? 
• To whom? 
• Will the thing you want, once achieved, benefit only yourself or will it help others as well?  

Once you've determined who benefits from your goal, then you can figure out whether pursuing it is still worth the effort. If it's only for yourself and your own ambition, then perhaps it's not something that will help anyone in the long run. Including yourself. If your goal WILL help others, then lean on God to help you. Remember your FOCUS and keep on keeping on. 

I'd Love To Hear From You!

What about you? What do you want more than anything? What will you do in order to make it happen? WRITE BACK (i.e., comment on this blog right here and not just on Facebook) and let me know what you're pursuing today. Thanks for reading.