Don’t Quit! Just Do Something Different!

“If what you are doing is not working to get you closer to your goal then you need to do something else. It’s that simple. It’s that difficult.”- ChaChanna Simpson

This is a saying I came up with at the beginning of the year when I decided I wanted to make some huge changes in my life. I had been trying to grow my business, lose weight, upgrade my wardrobe and other things. But as Yoda sayeth, “Do or do not. There is no try.” So, I looked at the ways I was repeatedly trying to change that were completely unsuccessful for me. And, like my soror used to say, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you already got.” It really is insane to keep doing something that is obviously not working but somehow expecting totally different results. When I realized the insanity that I was living in that’s when I came up with the above saying.

So now, whenever I get stuck on something or something is stopping me from reaching my goal. I say it to myself. It helps me remember that there actually other ways to get something done.

Can I get a witness?

How could this be happening to you right now without you even realizing it? “Well, ChaChanna,” you are thinking. “If I’m not realizing it how am I going to know it’s happening?” And, that is a stellar question. So, let’s think:

What are you striving to accomplish?

I know you have goals. A goal could be ANYTHING such as losing weight, finding a wife/husband, divorcing a husband/wife, eating healthier, buying a car, going to college, buying a nook, etc. You define your goals and they are neither right or wrong, they are simply yours.

What ways have you been attempting to get it done?

Now, first make sure you are giving those strategies a chance to work. We are in the age where we want to have everything the minute we think of it. For some things it works, like food. You are hungry, go to a supermarket and you are surrounded by choices. Other things such as losing weight, are a much, much, much, much, much slower process. Ugh!

If you have been trying to lose weight and are unsuccessful, don’t give up and decide that you are destined to be that weight. Find another way, get some help and support. If you have been trying to find a partner and are not meeting anyone or the right people, what can you try differently? Are you staying in the house all the time? If so, the only person you are going to meet is someone trying to break into your house, and that relationship is already not off to a stellar start. Go out, try different places, get a coach. Think outside the box.

Monkey see, monkey do

Just because someone had success doing something a certain way does not in any way mean that is the only way it can be done. So, if what you are doing isn’t working then be like Robert Frost and take the road not taken and create your own way.

And if, along the way, you come up against other obstacles, which will undoubtedly happen, accept the opportunity to overcome it. Joel Osteen says, “Every delay is not a denial.” Don’t get stopped, just stop and think what is another way to get to where you want to go. There are always options and choices you can make. They may not always be easy and fair but they are always there.

Be definite in your plans but flexible in your approach

I believe too many of us are so determined on how something happens. We think the way we have mapped it out in our minds or on paper is exactly the way it has to happen. And when other opportunities or another road to get there is opened we don’t see it. Please be flexible in journey to achieve your goal but never take your eyes off the target. There is more than one way to get there and with trial and error, you will find it!

Don’t quit! Just do something different!