You're Not a Quitter. You're Just Someone Who Keeps Trying.

What if the failure is actually never trying?

Have you ever looked at your own track record and decided you were a quitter? Someone who starts things and never sees them through? I have been there. Weight loss attempts, business ideas, goals, ambitions. A long list of things that didn't finish the way I originally imagined.

And for a while, that felt like a reflection of something broken in me. It took time to realize it wasn't. It was just evidence that I kept showing up and trying new things, and that is worth something.

✨Listen to the full episode or read for the breakdown.

The Businesses I "Quit" and What They Actually Were

Let me give you the full picture. I quit teaching after seven years to stay home with my first baby. From there I started private tutoring, then a baking business out of my 900 square foot apartment where I made cinnamon rolls and gluten free vegan treats and had customers pick up orders from the playground out front so my son could play while I worked. After that came Poshmark, then an online dress boutique that my brother and I launched together after my mom brought back these incredible stretchy dresses from Korea. We imported 10 fifty-pound boxes, lined them along the wall of my son's bedroom, did photography and house parties and Shopify, and eventually decided it just wasn't our thing. I have also tried Etsy, babysitting, substitute teaching, and a few other things I can barely keep track of at this point.

Did I fail? I don't think so. Every single one of those things ran its course and then finished. There is a difference between quitting and finishing, and it took me a while to understand that.

The Moment I Stopped Calling Myself a Failure

For a while, I was genuinely worried about how people saw me. The imposter syndrome crept in and I started to wonder if I just looked like someone who could never follow through on anything. But when I actually looked at everything I had tried, I saw something different.

I had learned an enormous amount. I had loved every single one of those seasons. And none of them ending said anything about my worth as a person or my value as someone who keeps trying. They were just complete. Done on their own terms. And there is nothing wrong with that.

"There is a difference between quitting and finishing. It took me a while to understand that."

The Cauliflower Pumpkin Smoothie Situation

"Shame keeps you stuck. Compassion gets you moving."

Here is a perfect example of what not beating yourself up looks like in practice. A while back I signed up for a ten day blood glucose reset. I bought all the foods, printed all the recipes, and was completely ready. The first recipe was a cauliflower pumpkin smoothie.

I made it. I drank it. It was awful.

I tried a cucumber salad next. Also not for me. And that was the end of the reset. All the food went to waste and nothing happened.

Looking back, the wiser move would have been to pick just one thing from the plan and try that first, on my own timeline, in a way that actually fit my life. But I never would have known that without trying it the way I did.

Every attempt teaches you something, even the ones that end with a very bad smoothie.

Three Things That Actually Make Goals Stick

After years of trying things, failing at some, finishing others, and showing myself a lot more grace through all of it, I have landed on three things that make any goal sustainable.

Small steps, fun, and easy as possible.

That's it.

When I start to lose motivation, I don't shame myself into pushing through. I ask myself two questions. Is this something I genuinely want? And if so, what do I need to change to make it more sustainable and more enjoyable? That shift from self-judgment into problem solving mode is everything.

Shame keeps you stuck. Compassion gets you moving.

"Small steps, fun, and easy as possible. That's it. Those three things make any goal sustainable."

You're in This for the Long Game

I plan to live to at least 90. I am not even 40 yet. That means I have a long time to keep becoming, keep trying, and keep finishing things on my own terms. There is no quick fix worth chasing and no version of me that has to have it all figured out right now. The goal is not perfection. The goal is to keep showing up, keep learning, and keep giving yourself the same grace you would give your best friend. So the next time something doesn't finish the way you planned, I hope you can look at it a little differently.

You are not a quitter. You are someone who keeps trying. And that is everything.

I believe in you.

🌈 Brynne

Thanks for Being Here

Hi, I’m Brynne. I share my journey of becoming through stories and reflection - guided by a higher power as I explore identity, faith, and everyday life, inviting you to grow alongside me.

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