"Remember Why You Started" Canvas Art by IKONICK. You started. Now finish it.

There's a reason why so few people live their dream life, while the vast majority settle into jobs and habits that are simply "good enough". It's because giving up on your dreams is so much easier. It takes constant effort and dedication to work toward a goal. It only takes one moment to decide to quit.

It's a hard truth, but quitting is easy. That one decision eliminates the pressure of having to honor your commitments. However, it also nullifies all the effort it took to get to where you are. And it guarantees you a spot among the settlers.

So how do you avoid the draw of calling it quits? Simple. Remember why you started.

Diets, new jobs, training programs, starting a business, ... Any challenge you undertake, takes some impetus to begin. Maybe you want to prove something to yourself (or others), or set up a better future for yourself. Whatever the reason, there is a lasting power to the initial starting point. Before adversity clouds your judgment and tries to convince you to give up—that's when you are thinking the most clearly. That motivation has the momentum to carry you through to the end.

Consider the analogy of running a marathon. A participant might originally sign up to prove they could run 26.2 miles or to benefit a cause bigger than themself, but somewhere around mile eight a switch flips and they are running just to make it to the finish line without dying. Which reason would you rather be running for?

There are countless obstacles on the journey to success. It might be an internal voice of doubt telling you momentary comfort is worth more than the lasting accomplishment of fulfilling your goals. Or it could come from someone else, jealous and bitter that they gave up on their own. Either way, the only true way to drown them out is to remember what you're doing it all for.

"Remember Why You Started" is your defense against doubt. When the journey gets difficult, quitting can seem like a tempting choice. That's just testing how bad you want to achieve the goal. Remember that nothing good ever came from giving up. Hold onto your original motivation and see it through to the end.