I did 350 burpees in a workout with Joe De Sena, the founder of Spartan Races. Here's what I learned about perseverance and not quitting.
In 90 minutes, 25 people between 25 and 65 of all fitness levels did 300+ burpees—the type with pushups and jumps. Nobody quit
By the end, I had hit my face on the ground because my arms gave out once, and others were huffing and puffing and crawling up. But still, nobody quit.
I'm sure we all wanted to.
Here's what got us through:
1. Quitting would be a public humiliation
We did the burpees as a group. A leader called "DOWN", and we all went down. We had to wait until the last person was down before calling "UP" to jump up.
If we messed up and one person missed a burpee, we restarted a set of 30.
We were told if someone were to walk away, the group would start over again.
No one wanted to let down the team or be seen as the person who quit.
So when you want to do something hard and hold yourself accountable, make it embarrassing to quit.
2. Don't quit when the goal post moves
We were told that that our goal was 210 burpees.
When we got to 210, the new goal was 300.
Oh boy, did I feel like throwing up my hands and quitting! That's so unfair! I hate it when expectations are not reality!
But in the real world, what it takes to get to success is often more than expected.
If you know that most people quit when the goal post moves, you need to be the one that keeps going.
3. Don't quit when the numbers get messed
When we completed the 6th set of burpees - 180 burpees, Joe said no - we only did 5 sets.
Some of us argued. That's unfair! We wanted to quit!
Your progress or results might not be accounted for in the real world. Judgment of how far you have come is by the world and not you.
Most people quit when they have already done more than what was acknowledged—don't be one of them if you want to reach the finish line.
4. Don't be someone who gets used to quitting
When you finish something hard, you prove to yourself that you can do hard things.
When you quit things you are committed to, you are telling yourself it's okay to quit and not reach your goals.
This becomes a habit and hurts you not only in that moment but in the long term in the way your brain works.
So before you decide to quit, even if it's something small - as long as it's not life-threatening - think about who you are becoming.
Adults, parents, and teachers coddle kids and set low standards so they never fail or need to quit.
We need to all not only learn to fail forward but also to persevere and not quit through immensely uncomfortable challenges.
Bet on the person in the boxing ring who keeps getting up. Be the person who keeps getting up so you can be confident in betting on yourself.