---
title: How to Keep Going When All You Want to Do is Stop
description: "Drive on one side, a voice that says quit on the other. Four simple steps to keep going when you want to stop: clarify, remember, decide, and commit."
image: https://brauer.ca/hubfs/keep-going-featured-3x2.jpg
---
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November 9, 2026
# How to Keep Going When All You Want to Do is Stop
 By Gavin Brauer · 4 minute read
Throughout my life, I have struggled with a paradox. On one hand, I have tremendous drive and self-motivation. I’m able to get myself to do very hard things with endurance and determination.
On the other hand, I often want to quit. There’s a voice in my head that won’t shut up. This voice is a mean-spirited 💩 head who says some pretty awful stuff. While I’ll spare you the profane language, it tells me to give up, that what I want isn’t worth it. Worse, it often tells me I’m not worth it.
This voice is not my friend, and it’s not on my side.
I get that this voice is likely a gift of evolution, designed to keep me safe. As a young man, I likely would have gotten into some serious trouble without it. But does it really have to be so mean?
That question, while important, is not the main thing I want to ask in this article. What’s important here is the primary question: how do you keep going when all you want to do is stop?
I’m going to start with a disclaimer… I don’t have all the answers. There are many people on this planet who have achieved far more, with far more hardship, than me. I’m a pretty average guy who has been fortunate to achieve above-average success in the things that matter most to me. I’m deeply appreciative of this, and it’s a gift I work hard not to waste.
It’s also a gift I work hard to share with others.
So how do you keep going when all you want to do is stop?
First, it helps to know what matters most to you. When I first started coaching executive teams, I was surprised by how many people can’t articulate what they want. If you can’t say what you want, it’s harder to focus on what’s most important. The good news is that you likely already know what you want. It might just be buried deep within you. One of my greatest gifts is my ability to listen to people and reflect back what I hear. So if you can’t articulate what you want, start by finding someone you trust who can pull it out of you.
There’s also a really good tool I teach my clients called (wait for it) *Getting What You Want*. While the tool is ridiculously simple, using it takes nuance, and it may take some practice before it helps. Keep practicing. You’ll get there.
You can find the tool, with instructions and a short video on how to use it in the [EOS Academy](https://academy.eosworldwide.com/). You’ll just need to create a free account. And if you’d like help figuring out what you really want, or just want me to send you instructions on how to use the tool, email me at [gavin@brauer.ca](mailto:gavin@brauer.ca?subject=Getting%20What%20You%20Want) or text me at (647) 403-4679. No strings attached.
Once you know what you want, the next step is to remember it.
Again, I’ve often been surprised by how quickly people forget what they want. Actually, that’s a lie. I forget many things quicker than most, so this doesn’t surprise me (hence my love of a well-designed system). The trick that works for me is to write it down and review it over and over again. The things I want most are written in multiple places so I can’t miss them: on my computer, on my phone, on a whiteboard in my office, and even on my bathroom mirror. Same goals, written in multiple places, so I review them often and know the plan by heart.
Now, here’s where things get personal. Clarifying and remembering are entry-level stuff. Not easy, but not that hard. I can help you clarify what you want in minutes. All that’s needed is that you trust me.
The hard part is the next two steps: (1) decide what you’re going to do about it, and (2) commit to that decision.
What makes deciding hard is that saying “yes” to one thing often requires us to say “no” to almost everything else. But as many legends have said before me (Peter Drucker, Warren Buffett, Stephen Covey, Steve Jobs, and so many more), success is driven by saying no to everything that isn’t truly important.
I struggle with this one, probably more than any other tip in this article. I have a lot of passions, a not-so-small Superman complex, and I want to do everything that excites me! But I’m learning, and I’m getting better. It also means that when I suggest you say “no” to things, I’ve felt the pain that comes from saying “yes” to things of lesser importance.
> *“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.”*
> – Stephen Covey (paraphrased from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)\*
The last tip I have for you today is to commit. Once you’re clear on what you want, have remembered it, and decided what you’re going to do to get it, the next step is to commit to doing what it takes. Again, this is really hard. Like the decision, committing to one thing means giving up something else. In the words of David Allen in his book *Getting Things Done*, “You can do anything, but not everything.”
The other thing that makes commitment difficult is that it’s not one and done. It’s the piece of this puzzle we have to do over and over again. We want to stop because what we’re doing is hard. It hurts. Stopping in the moment is easier. It gives temporary relief from the pain. But as we all know, the things that matter most are rarely easy. So to keep going, you have to recommit to what you want every time that evil voice in your head tells you to stop.
Now, here’s the caveat. Sometimes the right thing to do is stop. If what you’re doing isn’t right for you, then by all means, stop. Just don’t quit. There’s a difference between the two, and wisdom is knowing the difference. Social pressure and integrity will help keep you from quitting on others. Discipline and self-belief will help keep you from quitting on yourself.
To sum it all up, the process is simple:
(1) Clarify what you want,
(2) Remember what you want,
(3) Decide what you’re going to do about it,
(4) Commit to what you’ve planned to do. Repeat over and over until you’ve achieved what you want.
Don’t stop. Keep going.
P.S. Find your tribe. Love and support from your people will help more than almost anything.
P.P.S. If you do stop, you can often start again. Miss today’s workout? Pick it up again tomorrow. Just remember that tomorrow becomes today. So when you pause, start again soon.
Here are some videos from some very remarkable human beings: Terry Fox, Viktor Frankl, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and more.
\* From [*First Things First*](https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/First-Things-First/Stephen-R-Covey/9781442304956) by Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill.
About Gavin
I help leaders grow the value of their business and live a more meaningful life. As a Certified EOS Implementer, I do this by helping them run their business on a proven system, and stick to it.
My work is grounded in years of running my own businesses, sitting on boards, and investing in others. I’ve lived the full life-cycle of business: sourcing deals, doing due diligence, running the day-to-day, and exiting, sometimes through a sale and sometimes by shutting it down.
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