5 Ways To Keep Momentum When You Feel Like Giving Up

At one point or another in our lives, there will come a time when we feel we need to make a change, whether in our personal lives or professional ones. That thought will fester as we wrap our brains around what we need to do to actually make that change happen until we’re spinning our wheels feeling like things aren't happening fast enough. 

But guess what? Thinking about why things aren’t happening keeps you focused on what’s lacking and perpetuates the feeling of being stuck. Your brain zeroes in on all the reasons things aren't working and literally looks for problems to prove itself right.

The result? 

By continuing to obsess over the idea that things aren't happening as fast as you’d like them to, you’ll never make any progress and might even give up! In January 2015, I made the decision that I wanted to move to Los Angeles. At the time, I was working as a sales consultant in a fine art gallery in the Napa Valley and was ready for a big change.

I started applying for jobs but felt like nothing was happening.

I didn’t get any interviews.

I felt this deep desire to be in LA and an inner knowing that there was more for me there. 

So I decided to look at what was in my control and stay focused on expanding my vision for my new life and career in Southern California. 

During the next 6 months I went through a roller coaster of emotion, but every time my brain started telling me it was never going to happen, I would redirect it back to how it was happening and how I was creating it now.

I started researching galleries and cool creative businesses that I found interesting. I would call or email them and see who I could get in touch with to ask about job opportunities. I started planning solo trips to LA and set up in-person meetings with gallery directors, interior designers, and VPs of international creative companies. 

I took courageous action and got creative to show myself what was possible -  and what I was capable of...even though it still felt like nothing was happening.

I tried to have a lot of fun, too. I made a few new friends, stayed in AirBnbs, went to cool new restaurants, and started getting familiar with the lay of the land and what neighborhoods I could see myself living in. 

Then one day in Napa at the art gallery, an opportunity to work in LA landed right in my lap. The sales director of TASCHEN Publishing came in to meet with our book buyer. She introduced herself to me, told me that she was filling in for the West Coast Rep since they currently didn’t have one, and gave me her card.

The rest is history. It was another 2 months before I started my new role at the TASCHEN offices in Hollywood, but the point is I never let my brain take over to the point where I felt like I should give up.

***

If you are currently struggling with feeling impatient, frustrated by timing, and paralyzed by fear about the future of your career, you’re in luck because I’m sharing 5 actionable steps to help you feel more calm, centered, and grounded in trust so that you can rest assured it’s all happening now.

5 Actionable Steps To Take Today…

1. Have compassion for yourself!

Your brain is offering you thoughts as a way to try to protect you and keep you safe. It’s natural to have these fear thoughts from time to time! The goal is not to resist them, but instead to allow them to surface, feel them, and process them out so you can align with more empowering thoughts and feelings.

 2. Write down all of your fears

Write down all the thoughts that are causing discomfort: fear, frustration, negativity, anxiety, anger, sadness etc. Get them all out on a sheet of paper. 

Example:

✔️ It’s not happening fast enough

✔️ I’m never going to be where I want to be

✔️ It’s never going to happen

✔️ How will I ever make _____ amount of money

✔️ Why does it always take so long

✔️ I’ve worked so hard and still, nothing is happening

✔️ It’s not working

✔️ I should just give up

✔️ I hate this

✔️ This sucks

3. Consciously feel those fears and then release them

As you write, or after you’ve got all the thoughts down on paper, allow yourself to feel into the feelings that they bring up. Close your eyes and notice where in your body you feel the sensations. Breathe into the sensation and when you breathe out, release the discomfort and imagine it leaving your body. You can even say, “I consciously chose to let this go” on the exhale.

4. Write down proof of how things are working

Write out examples of how things are working out.  How have you recently shown up for yourself? What fears have you already stepped through? Where have you been courageous? What wins do you want to celebrate?

Example:

✅ Went to a spoken word poetry event

✅ Met up with girls from a Facebook group

✅ I invested in myself by hiring help with my marketing, buying a detox kit, and paying for meditations

✅ I reached out to multiple friends last week that I have talked to in months and one of them signed up for my writing class

✅ I showed up at a dinner that a client invited me to where I didn’t know anyone else

✅ My podcast interview is going live next week

✅ I’ve been praying at night and in the morning, strengthening my spiritual connection with the universe

✅ Handed out flyers for my business at the mall

✅ Met up with a new friend for tea

✅ Had a pool day and got my nails done 

5. Remind yourself what you have control over

What do you have control over, right now? Utilize the proof from step number 4 to inspire you to keep going. Create a list of inspired action items that you have control over now in order to keep the momentum going. What would be fun for you? What would be something outrageous or silly? What is your soul desiring to do? What’s something that would push you beyond the limits of your comfort zone?

We aren’t in charge of timing, but we are in charge of how we show up every day to expand our vision of the reality we see for ourselves and commit to that vision… even when it feels like nothing is happening. 

Shifting out of that fear and into aligned action is exactly what I help my 1:1 clients with all the time. We meet weekly to slow down the anxiety and choose a new more empowering set of beliefs to feel confident to create their dreams. 

This kind of work is not always easy to do on your own, so if you’re looking for guidance, accountability, and supportive space to strategize becoming that future you that you desperately desire, send me a message and let’s chat about how I might be able to help.