Oh, the Places You’ll Go

Getting Yourself Out of a Slump

Books that Inspire Me #37

This is the 37th in a series of posts in which I share thoughts on a book that has inspired me over the years.

This book is, for very good reason, one of the most frequently given graduation gifts. It begins and ends with the “you can be anyone, do anything, go anywhere” sort of message one would expect from such a book, or from a commencement address.

But in between the ambitious launch at the start and the glorious finish at the end, Dr. Seuss tells his readers to expect:

> Bang-ups and Hang-ups will happen to you…

> You’ll be left in a Lurch on a prickle-ly perch…

> With an unpleasant bump you’ll be stuck in a Slump…

> You’ll spend time in that most useless place, the Waiting Place…

> You play games you can’t win – because you’re playing against you…

> You’ll meet things that scare you so much you won’t want to go on…

> Your arms will get sore and your sneakers will leak.

Sounds a lot like life, doesn’t it.

But Dr. Seuss promises that you will escape the Lurch, get out of the Slump, leave the Waiting Place behind, overcome your fears, and persevere through the sore arms and leaky sneakers. And then: Oh, the places you’ll go!

Thomas Edison said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” As anyone who’s ever run a marathon knows, the last mile is the hardest. It’s when you most want to quit that you most need to find the inner strength to go on.

Here are three questions to ask yourself when you’re stuck in a slump and tempted to quit…

Question #1: Why is this important, who will benefit if you don’t quit, and who will lose out if you do quit?

Question #2: What else can you give up so that you don’t give up on this priority?

Question #3: Who can you ask for help?

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