I bet you’ve heard the saying “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” so many times you tune it out. And roll your eyes.

Although it’s clichéd as hell, that little nugget of wisdom should be pressed as close to your heart as your list of dreams and your copy of Mary J’s My Life (I’m just sayin).

Life is about starting over. And unless you have some amazing juju, I’d wager that you’ve failed at a few things more than you’d like to admit.

I know I have. I can’t even tell you the amount of times I’ve tried to eat right, work out, and cook my way to a size 10 only to find myself diving face first into a delicious batch of chocolaty goodness.

You see, I’m lowkey addicted to anything sweet and chocolaty and bready, and no matter how many times I commit to overhauling my eating, starting a new workout plan, and finally getting it right, I just can’t seem to stick to it.

But oh, I’ve had success, over and over again. After noticing how fat my face was one summer, I committed to shedding some weight and dropped 20lbs. in a month. Feeling confident, I allowed myself one treat, then another, and another until I was nearly back where I started, struggling to take off 15lbs.

These days, I’m back to struggling, although if I’m honest, I’m not really trying. I keep telling myself that when I finally get into a smooth work/life schedule I can make time to cook more and work out, but that day never quite seems to come. Deadlines, mommy duties, and Twitter seem to all get in my way. Sure I’ll have a week here and there when I’m on top of it and manage to drop 5lbs., but inevitably, the cookies get the better of me again.

But what’s a girl to do when I always seem to be on the losing end in the battle of the bulge? Do I give up and resign to always have this pooch in my belly and too-thick thighs? Or do I try—again—to get it right?

This is the battle many of us deal with in love, in business, in school, in our health, and in life. Far too often we fail to reach our goals time and time again (and despite our best intentions) that we feel like we have no other option but give up.

I mean, I get it. I’ve witnessed people give up on finding mates, on their dream of starting a business, on going back to school, and so much more. And you know what happened? They were bitter, unhappy, and consistently wondered what they could have done if only they would have made it.

That will not be me. And if I don’t get down to my fighting weight until I’m 70 and gray, then so be it. I will get there.

Starting over is scary and admitting you’ve failed isn’t the easiest thing to do. But being resilient and having the ability to bounce back from whatever challenge that prematurely buckled your confidence is absolutely necessary if you’re going to reach your goals.

So, if you’re wondering if you should give it just one more try before giving up…my advice? Hell yeah.

This time might just be it.

##

Are you starting over on something? Please leave a comment and let me know how you keep from giving up on your dreams.

* Want to be in the company of some phenomenal go-getters? Join us on Facebook!