Busy times often make people think outside of boxes and even reach the breaking point in their motivation and internal engagement toward work, team, company, spouse, and relatives. The more we move forward in the years ahead, the higher the risk of letting essential things back and becoming passive toward success. The speed of living and the conjuncture of our situations often create surprising reactions for everyone around us. The person you have always seen as the most energetic one in the team may become indifferent at once, those supporting actively change, become passive and quiet, etc.
Only some people have the will to finish what they have started, but in the last few years, people have given up more quickly than before. According to the University of Oxford research from 2022, forty-six percent of the respondents in their survey share that they do not want to put much effort, and if something looks hard for them, they will likely give up instead of searching for new ways to finish the job or achieve the goal. Psychologically people give up because of their not developed attitudes and skill sets to ensure they will be winners. We like to win and feel bad when we see that failure is on the horizon. Because loss hits our EGO and makes us look weak. While we talk so much about vulnerability and accepting the circumstances, people are still more likely to support success than buy that improvement is needed.
In my work experience, I have studied people’s psychological attitudes in a direct working situation to find the most common reasons why people quit. Below is the list of sixteen reasons I have created for you:
Expecting fast results
Nowadays, information is on the top of our fingers. We search in seconds for information that once was hard to find in days. If you have a question or want information on that cool place you save while driving your car, go to the search engine you like most and type the name. Instant results in many areas of our life have made us impatient with long-term effects. Most people plan their wealth or energy for 1-3 years. Expecting to have resulted in a shorter time and not seeing them constantly is one of the most recognizable reasons why people quit.
Stop believing in themselves.
We start with enthusiasm, think that we can move the world to achieve what we have planned, put some energy into the process, and then something strange happens. We start losing our drive to reach the results several days or weeks after the start. From getting to the end successfully, we start thinking if we are going to finish, then move to question our knowledge, skills, and ability to finish what we have begun. The problem is common with many people. Enthusiastic initially, they move through different stages to reach where they don’t believe the results are achievable. Believing in ourselves is crucial to start something new, but sustaining the energy and being disappointed by ourselves is the arduous task everyone must master if people want to be successful.
Get stuck in the past.
What makes people not achieve new results is living in the past. People love situations where they feel comfortable. Non-comfortability creates stress and anxiety. And even if things in the past were imperfect, we still learned to live with them, making us comfortable. Sticking to that past “positive” experience, we often scratch the new experiences and stick to what we know best. Some nineteen percent of the respondents in the survey answered that being connected to the past is a primary reason they do not do new things.
Dwell on mistakes
What we learn best is to live comfortably. Even if this is wrong or creates mistakes, if we feel comfortable, our style of living is something we stick to. At the same time, this may be a prerequisite for building slaver behavior. Focused on not disturbing our environment and pushing ourselves further ahead, people often make and tolerate reasonable and acceptable mistakes.
Fear the future.
The future is unpredictable. We don’t know what will happen to us and others, making us uncomfortable and stressed. And what stresses us makes us weak. Fearing what may come strongly supports how we build our environment. Making everything around us safer is a driver that stops us from being proactive and creates stubbornness in the next step.
Resist change
Stubborn to change is not a rare mental condition today. Feeling afraid of what may come and knowing what is happening now is a good predictor of how people act. While unsure, people often try to stay with what is safe. But resisting change does not lead to anything good. In the loop where everyone must act fast and sometimes sharply, resistance to change throws you out of reality and isolates you.
Give up their power.
People have powers they do not see. Every person has their own set of internal capabilities that helps them be successful in what they do. Often, stepping back and not using that power leads to the person being left behind and someone not as powerful and skillful as them shining in their place.
Believe in their weaknesses.
Said, in other words, means that people often create barriers than doors for them. With the fear of being uneducated enough or dependable on others, some brightest talents often fell back. This group focuses on what they can’t do instead of searching for what moves them forward and concentrating on it.
Feel the world owners them something.
“If only circumstances were different.”, “I deserved that, but the leadership team gave it to someone else.”
Often these thoughts or like them are in the heads of those who are not motivated enough to push forward. Searching for the reasons outside of us may calm our anxieties or Ego, but it doesn’t solve the main issue –that, as employees, we search for those who can give us something for granted. There is no such thing as granted success. Everyone must realize that searching for it is like searching for the unicorn under the rainbow.
Fear failure more than desire success
Often in a work environment, I hear words like, “To start this, I will need to be 110% sure that something is not going to fall apart.”
There is no such thing as the “sure thing.” Fearing failure more than appreciating success is a stopper that can block progress no matter the employee’s role or the role they play in life.
Never visualize what is possible.
In my coaching practice, I often heard words like “This came so unexpectedly.” So many people in work or life act with no intent on building scenarios. They start doing something without the pre-workout of thinking of possible outcomes. Visualizing the likely outcome is one of the most valuable elements when doing something new. Awareness of what can come from actions lowers stress and creates acceptance and balanced answers to every situation.
Feel they have something to lose.
“If I say that to my boss, I may get fired. There is too much to lose, so I better be quiet.” These were the words of a senior employee at a tech company I have hired to work with. No matter the role or the impact words may have on employees and people, most fear speaking openly. And this comes mainly because most people do not like working on multiple options for themselves. But if there is a built strategy for different scenarios, whether demotion, being let out, or being punished somehow, people may feel more comfortable expressing their accurate positions. Having options and backing up yourself is the first step to continue pursuing what is essential for you and not depend on someone else’s emotional and intellectual condition.
Overwork
This one has different names – exhaustion, burnout, etc. Often to show someone else how productive we are and how much we value results, we go directly into action. But the human body is not designed to uplift stress regularly. Even if we train at the gym, there are days with more pressure and exhaustion than others, followed by calm days or long, relaxing weekends. Overworking may seem like a good option initially, but it doesn’t lead to anything positive in the long run. Instead, overworking leads people to quit what was started with enthusiasm, passion, and energy.
Assume their problems are unique.
“This can only happen to me.” – A famous phrase that occurs when we face a difficulty or struggle with something. And unfortunately, it’s so wrong. There is nothing so unique in what happens to us. Often, a solution is found by someone else for all our problems. The thing here is that we must put some energy into the game to start searching for what can solve our problems. The impossible boss and toxic culture can be easily replaced by a place where our values align with the culture. Our financial issue may be solved with a strategy from someone who has been on the same path and has shared experience. Getting out of the limiting reality of our uniqueness is a prerequisite for successfully dealing with everything in our lives and stopping giving up on, if not everything, more than most things.
See failure as the signal to turn back.
Failure often scares even the most demanding people. For example, a person was meant to jump from the stratosphere to earth at an energy drink campaign to promote the fountain of energy the drink creates. On the jump day, a reporter asked him if he was scared. And the answer was positive. But what was more interesting was what followed. The same person said that no matter the possibility of failure or death, he never considered quitting that jump. Of course, this is too extreme for the ordinary person, but if we had always seen failure as a sign to stop, people would never have learned to drive bikes and cars, walk, jump, etc. Failure seen as something negative may make people want to give up, but if turned into the motivator for future success, it may positively impact the person in the long run.
Feel sorry for themselves.
Self-doubt and self-regretting are the most destructive behaviors we can build. Everyone who has ever succeeded has never thought of the missed opportunities that may have never occurred for them. Instead, they all focused on the positive of what happened to them and how that turned their lives and careers into a winning circle. Being sorry for what you may have missed makes people feel disappointed and, at the same time, insecure. Turning that feeling into a positive booster and focusing on what has brought you here where you are is the more valuable part of your mindset tweak.
IN CONCLUSION:
The more society and technology push people to get things more accessible, the lower the internal motivation to achieve something meaningful in the long term becomes. To turn that process and re-focus from being pushed to give up when a minor distraction occurs to striving for success and winning over a long time, people must first realize that factors are making them feel like they feel – winners or quitters. Only after that moment can give up on most things be turned into striving for more.
The Human place - a path from you to yourself 