Giving Up
That's Philosophical #1
Giving up is always an option no matter what you do. It’s the easiest way out and this makes it the hardest thing to resist on your way to success.
When it’s ok to give up
First, I wanted to say when giving up is possibly a great option. I think it’s okay to quit if you are not getting any joy from whatever you are doing. But don’t rush with this because emotions can take control of you. The most important thing here is to fall in love with the journey, so if it doesn’t add value to your life, it’s reasonable to stop.
But sometimes giving up happens because of something external, like bad feedback or rejection.
Negative Feedback
When someone praises you, your motivation goes to the moon. When someone critiques or even hates your work, your motivation plummets. However, in this situation, giving up is not really a good idea.
You can’t control someone else’s opinion or taste. Your work won’t be liked by everyone. Even Interstellar has 1-star reviews. You should take all the constructive critique and use it for your own good. Don’t care about the pointless haters, if you have those. (Btw I think that having haters is a milestone that shows your growth.)
Rejection
What do you do with rejection? Rejections often don’t say anything about your work. If you believe in what you do, there is no rejection that will be your last one. Of course, usually, it means that your work is not good enough, but it’s subjective.
J.K. Rowling was a lone, jobless, poor parent. Once she wrote a chapter for a story about a boy who lived on her way to England after a divorce. She believed in the boy and has been writing the first book for seven years. She was rejected by 12 major publishing houses. And eventually was offered a deal from a small house in London. Imagine if she said “screw it” on her 5th or 9th rejection. Now it’s the best-selling story ever written.
Henry Ford’s first two companies went bankrupt.
Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.
Jack Ma wanted to go to college but had trouble passing the entrance exam. On his first attempt, he scored a meager 1 out of 120 possible points on the math portion of the exam. On his second try, he failed again and barely passed on his third attempt, which allowed him to enroll in the less-than-prestigious Hangzhou Teacher’s Institute. Upon graduation, he was rejected for over a dozen positions, including a role at KFC where all of the other 24 applicants were accepted. [source] Man, this guy was a loser.
The Takeaway
Consistency beats talent, luck, and money. If you are consistent, it means you didn’t give up. Every step you make removes competition in your field. You are on your way to becoming one of the best. Obstacles benefit you more than you think.
Let progress be the fuel for your success. Use positive feedback from specific people as motivation and prove those who didn’t believe in you wrong.