No matter who we are, there are times when we will feel down. Times when things feel difficult and tough and we want to give up. Most people give up because of the ridiculous amount of work required for one to succeed. No matter how prepared you are, life is going to knock you down so hard at some point. One day you are going to wake up and feel like never getting out of bed.
Soldiering may not be the nicest or funniest thing to do but it is always the necessary thing to do. You cannot be in your comfort zone and expect yourself to succeed. Most of the time you have to get out of your comfort zone in order to succeed. You will go through the fire, upon sharp rocks, into deep waters, or into a valley before you can even begin to see the slightest ray of light.
What history teaches us;
It took Albert Einstein 4 years before he could speak and 7 years before he could read. Up to a point where his teacher described him as “mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in his foolish dreams.” He was eventually expelled and refused admittance to Zurich Polytechnic School. The University of Bern declined his Ph.D. dissertation as irrelevant and fanciful but in the end, he has been written down in history.
Most of the time success is celebrated on completion but the real battle is in the journey. It takes courage to succeed and triumph. To soldier on and not give up when the urge to do so is so strong and the odds to make it are so tiny. But remember, we all fail at one time or another, that is life. Whether our failures are huge or small, we have to persist, even in the face of uncertainties. We have to keep fighting because we are all a work in progress.
Things to do when you feel like giving up
1. Find reasons, not excuses
What are the reasons behind what you are doing? Because if your reasons are strong enough then you will resist the urge to quit. Doers always have reasons and quitters always have excuses so choose which one you are going to be. Remember, the reasons behind your goals will become your driving force. If the reasons are not strong enough, the urge to quit will be. As humans, we easily lose our way when we lose our why.
When your purpose behind doing something is strong enough, you will do whatever it takes to accomplish the task because there are people in your community who need what you have to offer.
2. Study the greats
There is no greater inspiring way to encourage or motivate yourself than looking at those who have paved their own way before, walked their own roads, and reached their destinations successfully. Look at those who have done it before and let them be your motivations and inspirations. Let their stories challenge you to be bold and brave enough to create your own destiny. It can only be through studying the lives and biographies or listening to the words of those who have succeeded before you that you will realize their stories were not easier or ordinary. It took a lot of persistence, resilience, and hard work for them to get to where they are and they did not give up in the midst of challenges. Success often leaves clues.
3. Keep your vision where it’s visible every step of the way
Most of the time people want to give up because they forget why they started in the first place. Your vision is something that you should keep in perspective each and every day of your life because it keeps you in remembrance. It reminds you why you started, where you are going, why you have to do what you are doing every day and why it’s important to soldier on and not give up. Make it a priority to never lose sight of your vision.
4. Celebrate your wins
We all have something to look back on and celebrate, whether big or small. We all have previous experiences from which we can reflect and learn one or two things. Most of the time when we feel like giving up, we feel like we are completely out of our depths and or we are not cut out for this. However, these are just emotions that are associated with the current state of affairs whereby probably we feel frustrated and like we have reached a dead end.
You are doing better than you think you are and you are further along than you think you are because this journey is a mileage. If we look back through our previous experiences we may actually take note of how we have managed to succeed before and adopt the same energy to help us carry through now.
5. Let your past failures be your scarecrow
Failure is not a nice place to be but we learn the most through failures and obstacles than we do through success and winning. The emotions associated with failure are quite exhausting and demoralizing in themselves. Although it may be exhausting, sometimes remembering how it felt to fail, can actually be an awakening call for you to push through and make it happen. For you to make this happen and soldier on instead of just giving. Because when you leave yourself with no other option but to achieve what you set out to accomplish you will definitely achieve.
6. Create your own ray of sunshine
What can get you out of a situation is first seeing yourself out of that situation. When everything is going wrong, then your head is the safest place you can find tranquil. You cannot get yourself out of a situation that you are part of. You have to excuse yourself from the situation first then you can find an escape route.
Your mind is your most powerful tool, if you can’t see that ray of sunshine in the midst of a storm then chances are, you won’t survive the storm anyway. Doubting yourself is the first and most sure way to your failure. When you are facing tough times, worrying or pitying yourself will only worsen the situation. What you have to do is to get yourself out of the maze first by focusing on the positive side. It’s okay to daydream of better days when you are in your worst ones because it gives you the courage to soldier on.
7. Invest in your associations
If you are in a hole it really doesn’t help much talking to those who have entered the hole before you and stayed there. It would rather help to look up and talk to those who have gotten into the hole and found their way out. Associating with negative people will only crush your dreams and make you realize why you won’t make it. You cannot learn to fly whilst associating with chickens, if you want to fly then you need to associate with eagles.
If your associations are with negative people then you will give up sooner and quit faster than you think. Network with positive thinkers, network with movers, network with dreamers because there is power in associations.
There is a saying ‘if you want to know how much your income is, try to figure out your close friends’ incomes and get the average.’ Who you talk to and mingle with counts, engross yourself in the right associations. Your associations should give you positive energy, not negative vibes.
No matter what, Keep Going!
In the midst of life, circumstances are bound to change. Things may get tougher than when you started. Circumstances may grow more grueling than before but that is just a phase and part of the journey. What will determine whether difficult situations will mark the end of your journey or not, is your ability to hold on.
In the midst of difficult circumstances, you may feel a complete lack of courage, a deep desire to quit, and a strong urge to give up altogether, Do not! The fact that you are here now is an essential act of courage. You can get through this, whether you feel you are strong enough or not, you can and you will get through this if you do not give up.
Remember, rocks can be turned into diamonds given enough pressure. Just like there will be a rainbow after the rain. Tough times are necessary to test your tenacity and obstacles are there for you to overcome. Do not give up when you still have got something to give! Nothing is really over until you stop trying. Soldier on, Keep Going, and DON’T YOU DARE GIVE UP!
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