To persevere or to pivot is a question that do-ers have been asking themselves since the beginning of time. It’s never a straight road when you are doing something new, blazing a trail, breaking a ceiling, or pushing boundaries, so it’s only natural to wonder whether to give up midway. How do you know whether to keep going or to give up?

Celine Germain | Somatic Intuitive, Advanced Cranio-Sacral and Somato Emotional therapist and Jeweler/Jewelry Designer.

I feel like the answer to this question has changed based on my own personal evolution. In the past, my ego would drive the boat, I had ideas I wanted to achieve and see come to fruition; my ego helped me attain those things. As I age, I find that my ego plays less a part in helping me make those decisions. I turn more to my body and my relationship to my spirit; its connection to the cosmos and my place in the world. When I’m faced with having to make a decision to keep going, I ask, “is it in alignment to continue on? If so how much farther?” If its not clear then I wait until it is then I take one step at a time. If I am guided to give up, that feels like a doneness in my body. A quiet moment of truth that comes through and a peaceful pause. I don’t see giving up as a failure, its a directive to pivot directions and even if I don’t know where that new direction is or what it will be like to step into that, I know that what ever is here now is complete and its o.k. to shift and move on/give up. Giving up can also be like surrendering to something greater. I choose to give up many things that don’t serve me. I decide that by feeling into my core and asking, does this still serve. If there’s shakiness or tension, then I know the answer is no. Then I can give up with grace. Read more>>

Coralee Beatty | Coralee Beatty, Fractional COO for the Construction Industry

Oh how I have gone through this cycle many times in my entrepreneurial journey! When I had my previous business, with my husband in the construction industry, it would be often that one of us was would want to quit and the other would pick up the energy, to keep us going. That went on for years, Then one day we were both ready to be done and within a week, our business was sold. Read more>>

Julie Randall | Antique store owner, show promoter

Giving up is not an option for me. I love my work and can’t imagine life without my businesses. Read more>>

Teddy Moisa | Singer-songwriter

It comes down to where your motivation is coming from. When it’s internal, you’re more likely to have clarity on what the right thing to do is. Either you’ll feel the desire to keep going, or you’ll know when it’s time to redirect. And I say “redirect” rather than give up because I think that “giving up” is a reaction to the external motivation running dry. Committing to a lifestyle, a choice, and your art requires a fuel that doesn’t burn out. For me, that fuel is internal motivation and a disregard, or at least a quieting, of the opinions of other people. I haven’t always found it easy to prioritize my own beliefs and desires for myself over what other people want for me, but I definitely work on it every day. Read more>>