Undefeated: Persevere in the Face of Adversity, Master the Art of Never Giving Up, and Always Beat the Odds Stacked Against You

Breaking the Barriers of Defeat

There are many things we stop doing in life. You just can't keep doing everything forever. At one point in your life, you may have worked out every day, and then gradually the workouts became less and less until you stopped altogether.

You may have been working on a master's degree, and then your children came along, so you put it aside until you had more time. You started renovating the house, hoping to put it on the market for more money, but with bigger commitments, you only finished half the work.

As you let go of the projects and goals that once mattered, you chose to take on other challenges - but did you give up the goals that could have made a difference in your life? You might look back on the choices you made and say to yourself, "If only I had stuck with it..."

I know this feeling. It is regret, the ultimate tool of self-defeat. It crushes your drive and forces you into the arena of losers. If you convince yourself that the past is your measure of success, you will make more of the same bad choices. Little by little, as we give up on the things that matter, we buy into the model of defeat.

When you look back at the things you stopped doing, there were reasons for not following through: A lack of progress that left you frustrated and bored; you were too busy with other commitments; or you simply lost interest and moved on to new ventures.

But what happens when quitting becomes more of a habit than anything else? If you have a desire to pick up where you left off, or to start what you never started, where are you now?

Also, do you know why you give up on things like creative hobbies, ambitious goals, or relationships?

If you don't decide to stick with your goal until it's completed, you may give up too soon before you achieve success. That way, you never finish anything. Instead, you end up with a long line of unfinished projects and abandoned plans. Unbuilt bridges and half-finished houses that remain uninhabited. Your dreams all go unfulfilled because you never cross the finish line.

Remember, it takes a great deal of focused concentration and resilience to see goals, projects, and tasks through to completion. We are busy people, so as much as we want to get everything done and be super productive, we must be honest about what can be accomplished. Don't overcommit and take on too much, knowing that you'll only end up defeating your efforts when it gets too much.

You may have given up something years ago that you now regret. You may want to return to it someday - but it is important to know why you gave up your passion before it had a chance to grow.

And let it go, now. Forgive yourself for not following through. If it's something that means that much to you, it will come back and pick up where you left off. Intentional action is what matters. Let go of all the grandiose ideas of wealth and fame. Take action on the one thing that can change everything.

There are many things I have given up over the years that I later regretted. Some of them were:

- Playing tennis. I was a great player and dreamed of playing professionally.

- Playing guitar. I tried it for a few months and gave it up. To this day, I still have a deep passion for playing music.

- Writing a book. I am writing again now, but I stopped writing for 20 years and it haunted me all the time.

- 10th grade math. I failed twice and gave up. I thought I couldn't do math, but later learned I was wrong.

- Exercise. I went to the gym for years. Then one day, I just... stopped.

- Building a financial portfolio. I started many times and never finished.

- Pursue work worth doing. Do you do what you love? If not, why not? Have you given up trying and settled? (More on this later.)

Once you know why you failed, you will be in a better position to do something about it. Knowing why you failed is just as important as knowing how you failed. Being fully aware of what is defeating you is like taking off your blindfold - now you can see what has been interfering with all your best efforts.