My daughter has been begging me to do an MMA class since she started last winter, but I didn’t want to. I’m a big wuss when it comes to combat 😬...all bark no bite 🤦♀️.
I finally sucked up my fears and said yes. I did a couple classes and thought it was all good, until this last class when we sparred each other for what seemed like an eternity. I GOT my butt handed to me, each and every time. I probably looked like a dang fool...you know the one who talks a big game, then crumbles at the first punch combo? Yeah, that girl 🙋♀️.
I wanted to quit at the first spar. I wanted to say, “this isn’t fair, these people have been doing it longer than I have. I don’t know what I’m doing. I am super uncomfortable. I’m done, I quit!”
But I didn’t. And I don’t plan on quitting for the reasons I stated above.
Up until I got married and had kids, I had bad habits of quitting when things got hard or stopped trying because I feared failing and looking like a fool.
As an elementary student, I changed teachers because I heard a teacher was super tough. As a high schooler, I quit trying at math because I was told I wasn’t good at it and I needed to repeat the class in order to move on. I also wanted to be a pediatrician since I was little and loved my biology and nutrition classes, but changed my mind because chemistry was too hard and didn’t bother pursuing past that. As a college student, I changed majors because I heard that accounting was necessary and I hate any kind of math. As an adult, I started running, but quit after a while because it got too hard and kept focusing on how hard it was and never pushed myself past the hard. See the trend? All my focuses were centered on “what I can’t do”.
I have a record of quitting when the going gets tough. Things I know I can be good at, I’ll struggle all day long to get it right. The things I know I suck at, I quit and just stop trying.
But my perception and reasons for quitting started changing when I became a wife and mom. As a wife and mom, struggling is just a part of the game. No one is good at it, you just have to learn from your mistakes and keep moving forward. And, above all else, the struggles have shown me they are worth it EVERY time.
2020 has been a pivotal year for me because I’m shifting my sayings of “I can’t do that because…” to “well, that’s hard, yes, but here’s what I can do…”
I’m taking up running again to see how far I can go (literally), I’m getting back into my love for nutrition and science of the human mind and body to pursue a healthier lifestyle for my family and me, and I’m doing something I never ever wanted to do...get my butt kicked. I don’t plan on quitting, I plan on learning how to take a hit and more importantly how not to block with my face 🤪.
Do you share a similar habit of wanting to quit prematurely?
This verse is my go-to when I want to quit, I hope it encourages you to get back up, and to keep moving forward…
“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” James 1:2-4 MSG
If the reasons you want to quit are due to “it’s just too hard” or “I’m not good at it anyway so why even try”, I encourage you to keep at it. You will learn so much about yourself. Take each failure as a lesson and LEARN from it.
We are strongest in our weaknesses and growth requires failure. And if you’re a believer, God will show Himself more in your weaknesses than in your strengths!
“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” Ephesians 3:16-20 NLT
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