“Winners never quit and quitters never win.”

“Pain is temporary.”

“It never gets easier, you just get better.”

No doubt these quotes are not new to you. Plastered onto scenic stock images, motivational quotes permeate our social media feeds.

Hard work and perseverance are highly-praised qualities in American culture. From our youth, we’re taught  that these attributes are all we need to achieve a prosperous, successful life—the so-called “American dream.”

So we dream, we plan, we set goals and we expect our dedication to pay off.

But what about when plans don’t turn out the way we originally expected?

What should we do when no matter how hard we work, certain goals always seem out of reach?

An article in The Washington Post introduced an interesting Meetup group of Washington, D.C., residents who call themselves The Quitters’ Club.

Founded by Justin Cannon, The Quitters’ Club seeks to help people give up goals that have turned out to cause them more harm than good.

Cannon said he grew up believing that winners never quit and had always equated quitting with losing.

Cannon started to reconsider the importance of some of his goals, however, when the stress of them started to wear on him.

While the group members do help each other give up burdensome dreams, they also encourage each other to not give up too easily.

Their goal is to help members decide which goals to toss and which ones to continue to work toward.

As Christians, we should  approach goal making in the perspective of God’s will for our lives to make sure our goals are those that God wants us to have and not simply our own desires for our lives.

As Dr. Pettit reminded us in his chapel message on Monday, Philippians 4:13 assures us that we can do all things through Christ, through His strength.

This truth encourages us that no matter how difficult a task or how unattainable a goal may seem, if it’s what God has called us to do, He will provide the grace we need to succeed.

If your self-made goals seem to be creating more problems than benefits at every turn, maybe it’s time to reevaluate them.

Quitting on goals you’ve set doesn’t make you a failure.

When it comes to deciding whether to keep going or not, we must discern whether the goal is one we’ve set or if it’s a God-given command.

For example, setting the goal of always getting your homework done several days in advance is commendable. But giving up on this goal for the sake of getting sufficient sleep or spending time with a friend in need doesn’t mean you have failed.

While goals can help achieve success, pressuring yourself to fulfill them all no matter what is not always best.