Because Of You I Did Not Give Up

By: D. A. Slinkard

We have just celebrated the United States of America’s birthday! What a joyous time for many people to reflect upon the freedoms we have here. How did we go about getting these freedoms? It came down to a decision being made, and never backing down from that decision. Thinking about our Independence Day and the bravery that has been evident throughout our country’s history, I am reminded that each act of heroism was completed all because someone made a decision bases on what they believed in.

Throughout all of history, this same sentiment is found in anyone who has ever done anything worthwhile. The person simply made a decision to change their life and then kept moving forward. How many times do we have people make a decision but then hesitate to act upon what they know is right? This happens more than we realize because it is human nature to avoid fear. If I take the road less traveled, then it might be hard. Life might not be easy. Things might get tough. These are the thought processes of those who have a defeated mindset.

Whatever it is you want out of life, you must make a conscious decision to go all-in. Yet, we live in a society that teaches us to dab a little here, and dab a little there, and life needs to feel good. I am going to tell you that life does not always feel good because it will not always be easy; things might get tough, but we need to be of the mindset to stick it out. Look at marriages across our country, and you see a staggering statistic that shows more than 50% of all marriages end in divorce. Why? People want to dab a little here, dab a little there, and don’t you know that life needs to feel good?

We have been lulled asleep by this ideology that we can have anything we want in life, and we can achieve it by taking the least amount of action possible. Wrong way of thinking. Can you imagine what the great United States of America would be like if our forefathers had this mentality? There would be nothing great about our country; but instead, we had leaders who made a decision to commit to something great.

What is it that you need to commit to that you have been holding back on? Maybe it is your spouse you have been holding back on? Maybe it is your family? Maybe it is your entrepreneurial spirit you have been holding back on? Now is your time to make the decision to commit and never back down. What steps are you going to take to ensure your success? What are you going to do differently today that you did not do yesterday? You can no longer think the way you thought yesterday and achieve the great results tomorrow.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, but expecting a different result. Does that sound familiar to you? Wake up, go to work, come home, eat dinner, go to bed, and repeat the same cycle tomorrow. If this sounds like your life I am describing, then there is so much more you are missing out on. Only you can answer the question of what is lacking in your life. Our lives are but a vapor that passes before our very eyes; and before we know it, this life of ours will be over. We can only look back at the decisions we did and did not make. I guarantee that the majority of people will reflect back with remorse not on what they did but on all of the opportunities they missed out on because of that word fear.

What do you want? Do you want to be the person who looks back and says, “What if?” Or do you want to be the person who inspires someone else to continue on. I can personally tell you that I want to be the individual who has someone say to me in twenty years, “Because of you, I did not give up.” I can only hope to have that kind of impact upon the lives of those around me. Think about the decisions made by generations before us, and then think about the generations ahead of us. What kind of example are we setting forth? More specifically, what decisions are you making today to positively impact your family, our society, our country, and the world around us?
By: D. A. Slinkard
D.A. Slinkard is the manager of the Athens Staples store