I write this blog every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Every once in a while I feel like I should just quit. I wonder if people are reading. Sometimes I think my writing isn’t improving. Other times I feel as though maybe I could pick up another hobby. But then something happens that convinces me not to quit.

A couple of weeks ago I was reminded of one of the reasons why I keep going. I got a random email from the editor of our church’s national publication. To quote the email:

Observing from Facebook that you are quite the writer, I’m writing to see if you are interested in contributing to the next three issues of [our magazine]! In particular, I’m wondering if you’re open to authoring the most-read page of the entire magazine: the Bible study entitled “Searching Scripture.”

This was just one reason for me to keep going. I kept putting my work out into the world and someone noticed. Now I get to use my writing to bless and uplift others. If I had quit writing long ago this may have never happened.

So here are three reasons for you to keep going, whatever your pursuit may be:

1. It’s good for you. The more you create your art (art is something that changes both the recipient and the one who creates it), the better you get at creating it. A writer writes better sentences. A painter paints better paintings. An engineer creates better drawings. A teacher makes better connections with students. Consistency in creating content creates better artists. So don’t quit.
2. It’s good for those who receive it. When you consistently produce something and ship it out into the world it has an impact. Your art (writing, painting, engineering, teaching, or whatever) touches hearts and lives. It can’t do that unless you see to it that it you are producing something worth consuming. And sometimes people won’t pay attention unless you are producing something on a regular basis. So don’t quit.
3. It brings opportunity. As I showed above, the consistency in my writing produced a paid opportunity to do something that would be beneficial to people and bring a wider audience to my writing. If you don’t ship your art on a consistent basis it will be difficult for people to take notice or find it. So don’t quit.

What is it that keeps you from quitting?