Thoughts on Illustration

To Quit or Commit: Should You Let Go of Your Big Dream?

Episode Summary

When we have big dreams, we have to lean into them hard and really go for it. But sometimes what we thought we wanted doesn't turn out. Maybe it's too hard or maybe we just don't enjoy it anymore. The question is, do we double down and commit, knowing that payoff is just around the corner, or do we allow ourselves to quit, knowing that it's the only way to make room for something better?

Episode Notes

IS IT TIME TO LEAN IN OR LET GO? When is it time to double down and commit to that thing you said you’d do, and when might it be time to call it quits? As illustrators and creative people, we may have all kinds of things we think we should be doing, whether to build up our careers or grow in our skills, or using our art for some kind of good. If you’re at the very beginning of your career, or barely even getting started at this point, you may well be wondering, how long is this thing going to take before I start getting noticed? How do I know if all this work I’m pouring into this thing is going to pay off? For a lot of us, I know we’re also trying to get noticed on social media. We wonder how much effort should we be putting into building our presence online and, more to my point, if we’re not seeing the returns we hoped for, when might it be time to quit altogether?

In this episode, I’m going to share with you some times when I’ve had to wrestle with this question — should I commit or should I quit. In fact, I’m going through this question right now in a very real way, and to be honest, I don’t quite know how it's going to turn out in the long run.  There are some times when you need to let go and try something else. But what I can tell you is that there are definitely times I wanted to give up but kept on going, and I am VERY glad I stuck with it. So in this episode, I want to give you some ways to consider both sides of the question. How can we be more clear about whether we should quit or commit, and how am I using this very same process to think through my current dilemma? All I ask is that you stick around, you know, maybe COMMIT to listening to this episode the whole way through — I know that if you’re facing this question in your life, you’ll get something out of it.

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IN THIS EPISODE

Opener: Should You Quit or Commit?

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Part 1: The purpose of today's topic

• To work out this question in my own current big goal/project
• I am committed but it's costing me a lot — of time and finances
• Everything takes longer than I hoped
• Good reasons to quit but also good reasons to stay committed
• What if I'm just being negative about things? What if I'm on the verge of a big breakthrough?
• Is it possible to be overcommitted to a goal?

Part 2: What can I teach from this situation?

• How to navigate this dilemma, should I quit or should I commit?
• I want to validate this experience – why this is hard for all of us
• Deciding which is better: letting go to make room for something else, or staying committed to give things a chance to pay off?
• Analogy: relationships — have you ever stayed in a relationship you weren't happy with for too long?
• Owning your feelings and desires no matter the cost to you or others
• The tendency to attach what we do to who we are as humans - identity vs. activity
• Have your goals changed? Do you even still want to do this anymore?
• Chill out! Don't get so intense about things working out exactly as you planned
• Paradox: When you're willing to let go of a good thing you're more likely to get it
• You've got to be in it to win it

Part 3: Questions we can ask ourselves

• Purpose:
  • Why am I doing this?
  • What do I want?
• Method:
  • Is this the only way to achieve my bigger goal?
  • What else could I be doing?
• Value:
  • What is this costing?
  • Is the cost worth it? Why?
  • What are you getting out of this?

Conclusion

• The things we do don't define us
• The most important thing: Ultimately what gives you joy? What helps us love others and ourselves?
• Plot twist: Leaning in and Letting Go are not the only two options
• Another option: Loosening up
• How I'm loosening up with my big goal

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

Andy J. Pizza / The Creative Pep Talk Podcast - https://www.creativepeptalk.com/

Marc Maron / WTF Podcast - https://www.wtfpod.com/podcast

PODCAST TEAM/CREDITS 

THANK YOU TO MY TEAM!

Julia Herrick, Script Editor
https://julesherrick.com

Mark Allan Falk, Audio/Video Engineer
https://linktr.ee/semiathletic

All Music, including Theme Song and Cues by Mark Allan Falk.

FIND ME ELSEWHERE 

http://linktr.ee/mrtomfroese