Giving up is not an option because no good things happened after giving up. The times when people became successful is when they got back up just one more time even when everything seemed to work against them. Life is always an uphill battle and just showing up is enough to win most fights.
The one who gives up loses and the one who perseveres wins. It’s the ones who give up after the first no in a negotiation who loses. It’s the one who doesn’t keep showing up one more day after they had a bad day who loses. Imagine letting go of all the progress and the work you’ve put in.
Maybe you’re frustrated that you’re not getting enough or fast enough of a progress. Slow progress is still progress. Whatever it is, the only time you should give up is on your deathbed. Life is hard. No one ever hands you anything, you have to go out and earn it yourself.
There are many times when I just wanted to throw in the towel and give up. I got rejected for the 100th time for a job application. The company couldn’t afford me after several rounds of negotiations. And the like. It’s demoralizing when you put in all that work just to find out the money doesn’t work for both side.
However, I still kept taking interviews, talking to more recruiters, and the like. After all of that effort is when I finally snagged the job offer of a lifetime and am now in the best situation I could ever possibly be in for my job. Giving up is not an option. Keep showing up day after day after day.
Why Giving Up is Not an Option
The reason why giving up is not an option is so that I never give up asking you to SMASH that social share button and posting to your favorite social media! Your friends might be on the brink of doing so and we don’t want them to fail. If this article can give your friends that push, why wouldn’t you?
Let’s move up in life together. So with that said, here are the concrete reasons why giving up and quitting is bad.
1) Bad Times are in the Minority
Have you ever had people say, “I had a bad day”? No. You had a bad moment that you let it affect you for the rest of the day. Giving up is not an option because one bad moment doesn’t make up the whole day. I bet the other 90% of the day was filed with joy and happy moments.
Don’t let the bad times paint that color. In a given year, you don’t go through hardships 24/7/365. There are times when things are bad and there are times when things are good. The good times outweigh the bad times. Giving up is not an option because it’s illogical to let a bad day ruin the entire year.
Everyone goes through hardships. You’re not the only one. It’s who reacts to the hardships and triumphs over them that’s going to make the difference. Look at Ronald Reagan. I’m not talking about the political aspects of him but his attitude on when he was almost assassinated. He came back in cheerful spirits.
There’s always a way to look at the positives of life.
2) There’s ALWAYS New Opportunities Tomorrow
Whatever bad things happened today, there’s always tomorrow. There’s always a way to get back and progress further along. Every day is an opportunity to get after your goals. Every day is an opportunity for you to move up in your pursuits of self actualization.
Giving up is not an option because you have your entire life ahead of you. There’s no such thing as, “I’m too late”. A year is an insane amount of time. Tomorrow is a new day for you to make a completely different set of choices in order to get to where you want to be.
Opportunities are everywhere for everyone. It’s just who’s actually going to be there at the right place at the right time to seize and take those opportunities that are in front of them? It’s not the one who sits at bed because they’re tired from putting in so much effort., it’s the one who gets up just one more time.
3) The World Isn’t Ending
Unless aliens attack the Earth, the world isn’t ending and it’s not projected to end. People face hardships and failures throughout their entire life. There’s not a single person on Earth who hasn’t experienced hardships and/or failures. The world isn’t ending so there’s plenty of opportunities for you to forge ahead.
Try different things. Stop caring if you look like a fool and think you’re going to fail. I used to be terribly afraid of how I came across to others, how I sounded, and how I present myself to others. However, once I started to realize that level of overthinking is only for people who have the luxury to overthink, I stopped feeling like that.
My shyness is gone. I fully understand that giving up is not an option. Therefore, I will do everything including throwing the kitchen sink at the problem so that I can get to where I know I can get to. It’s not going to be easy by any means but I will try and try until I physically and mentally cannot.
Giving Up is Not an Option: How to Not Give Up
So now that you know giving up is not an option, how do you actually go about doing it? It’s not that hard and takes no skill, all you need is a little bit of willpower.
1) Step Away and Temporarily Walk Away
Sometimes, we do need those breather days, weeks, and/or months. It takes a lot for us to feel like we’ve broken even again. We need to get back to a feeling of homeostasis. The best way to do that is to have rest days. Days where we do nothing but ponder on at the world.
Days where we recoup, recharge, and get back at it afterwards. Breaks are so necessary in our lives. Walk away and step away from the game. However, don’t give up on the game altogether. Giving up is not an option. You may need to sit on the sidelines for a few weeks before going back.
There are weekends where I can’t do anything but sit around and relax on the couch. That’s completely OK. Those days are when I’m tired and affected by the rest of the world that I have no other choice. As much as I would love to work on my goals, that is actually a better use of my time.
Take one step back in order to take two steps forward.
2) Don’t Neglect Baseline Work
No matter how tired and exhausted you are, remember that there’s baseline work that you HAVE to complete. You always have to go to work. Don’t suddenly take an excessive amount of PTO and demand that your boss take care of your needs. It doesn’t work like that. There’s still a level of baseline work that you have to complete.
Come rain or shine. It’s one thing if you take the allowed 15-20 days of PTO per year. However, it’s another when you feel like the world should help you out throughout your hard times. No, that’s not how it works. Giving up is not an option. What that means is making sure you don’t neglect your baseline work.
Do your work. Keep working out. Do the daily activities that you HAD to do before you were going through tough times. Work doesn’t suddenly disappear. The universe and the world doesn’t owe you anything and they’re not going to adjust for you. You’re going to have to adjust to them to be victorious.
3) Do Routine and Boring Things
When you’re feeling down and don’t want to continue, you need to not only step back but to ease yourself back into the working mindset, do routine tasks. Do boring and routine tasks like cleaning up the house, the bathroom, kitchen, going for a walk, and the like. Do simple activities.
During weekdays, I enjoy going out for a walk after work. It just allows me to wind down from the complex activities throughout the day. It helps me sleep better as well. Then I know once I get back at it the day after, I’m well equipped to do so. Giving up is not an option.
Take care of yourself. Give your brain a break from all the complex activities throughout the day. The world became noisier than ever. You need to step away and give time to adjust back into it. This is how you can slowly ease back into the noise and the ever busy nature of your life.
4) Talk to Your Parents
This ONLY works if you have a good relationship with your parents. If you have bad parents where they may make the situation even worse, it doesn’t work. Right now, your feelings are out of whack. You want to give up, you have no idea how you’re going to move on ahead from this loss.
When your feelings are out of whack, the last thing you should do is talk to people who don’t understand what you’re going through. It’s going to make you feel even worse. This is where you parents come in. The relationship I have with my parents are amazing. I can talk to them about anything.
Part of me realizing that giving up is not an option is through the help of my parents. They’ve helped me through times when I was feeling low and wanted to give up. They reminded me what I was doing all of this for and helped me realize what I was getting up every single day for.
5) Delay Gratification and Remain Patient
Delayed gratification is one of the pinnacles of personal finance. It’s also one of the pinnacles in knowing how to be a go getter. Be patient in your goals. Your life is a marathon. You’re not going to become a millionaire overnight nor will you have a six pack in one day.
Be patient. Your life is a long term chess game that only ends after decades of hard work put into it. Don’t look for instant gratification because that’s the fastest way to ruin your life. Look for the future. Give it 10 years before any meaningful amount of effort even thinks about showing.
Giving up is not an option because 10 years is when people mostly come into being and fruition. That’s when they finally figure out the intricacies of their project and know how to move forward in situations. The one who thinks in decades will always win over the one who thinks in years.
6) Exercise and Walk Outside
Neglecting self care is the last thing you should do if you’re thinking about giving up. You need to exercise and keep your heart rate up and take care of yourself. Don’t neglect sleep. I, for one, need about 6 – 8 hours of sleep in order to feel like I’m ready to tackle the day.
Once that is fulfilled, that’s when I know my greatest weapon (me) is ready for battle in the outside world. Exercise, eat well, and sleep well. Otherwise, you’re going to give up at the least convenient time. Giving up is not an option. Taking care of yourself will always be the number one priority no matter the situation.
The easiest way to lose is for you to present the world with a weakened version of yourself. Taking care of yourself takes no skill. All it takes is a little bit of effort of things that you’ve already been doing over the past years. Don’t suddenly start eating junk food. Keep eating normally and consistently as before.
7) Change Your Environment because Giving Up is Not an Option
Sometimes, it’s not even about learning how to not give up, practicing resiliency, and grit. It’s about the little and simple things that have the biggest impact. For me personally, I get highly depressed during the winter months of December – April. It’s when I get no sunlight that makes a difference.
It dramatically affects my mood to the point where I don’t want to do anything. I need to get sunlight. That’s why Spring and Summer are the months in which I thrive and do very well. I have to take the most advantage of these months because they are the months that count.
Giving up is not an option because all you may need to do is get sunlight. Look outside at the window. Go outside. Grab some coffee along the way. It’s a little and simple thing that makes a huge impact to how you’re feeling. We need to get sunlight in order to live.
You may be considering giving up for a simple thing as the environment that surrounds you. You have the power to change your environment.
8) Don’t do Anything Drastic
Now is not the time to think about how to create the next 100 billion dollar business. Now is the time to take it easy and control your emotions. When you want to give up, it’s because your emotions are running high. You’re not thinking clearly. Don’t do anything drastic.
Instead, continue to keep doing what you’ve been doing. Giving up is not an option. Keep putting in the work you’ve been putting in. Keep showing up every day and put in the effort. Don’t knock on 100 people’s doors trying to sale door to door if that’s not what you’ve been doing normally.
Don’t go all in and bet everything you’ve got in one bet that you think is going to change your life forever. Now’s not the time for that. Now’s the time to take your time and keep putting in the effort so that you can move up slowly but surely. Keep your emotions in check.
9) Know that There’s a Way Out
It seems impossible right now. You’ve dug a huge hole and that there’s really no way out. So the only way you think of solving the problem is to quit. That’s not how it works. There’s always a ay out between now and the time you reach success. Giving up is not an option because you’re not done.
There’s more fight left in you to keep going and keep pushing forward. You’ll be surprised at just how resilient you are because you’ve already made it this far already. What are the chances this is the final destination? The most you’re ever going to achieve? The chances of that happening are very low.
There’s always a way out ahead to where you’re going to soar to new heights. There’s always a way. You’re more than capable. Give yourself more credit than what you’re giving yourself. It’s all about giving yourself a couple of months and time to recoup your psyche back to normality.
Giving Up is Not an Option
You’ve made it this far. You didn’t come this far to only come this far. The marathon isn’t over. You still have a long ways to go before you throw in the towel and stop putting in effort. Giving up is not an option. After five years is when you’ll look at this moment that you even thought of giving up in the first place.
Giving up shouldn’t even be at anywhere of your vocabulary. You have a bigger purpose than yourself to fulfill. You are meant to be more than who you are right now. You’re more than capable of getting there, too. There’s plenty of fight, gumption, and grit left in your body. All you have to do is give it time for you to realize that.
There’s someone out there who believes you are more than who you are right now. That’s me. Giving up is not an option because this is just the beginning. You’re just starting your journey. Failure is just the start of a journey, not the end. It’s just a setback you’re experiencing.
There was a case that I pursued my auto insurance company for. I could’ve easily given up and given up the couple thousand dollars that I was legally owed. However, I didn’t. I actually went out and sued the insurance company myself. I won the lawsuit and recovered the money just a month later.
Giving up is not an option. You’re going to be fighting and your life is a battle that you don’t want to lose. Keep going. You have plenty of options in front of you. Exhaust all of your options and then some before you decide to throw in the towel. Don’t quit just when things are beginning to happen.
Giving Up is Not an Option: How to Not Give Up Shortlist:
- Step away and walk away
- Don’t neglect baseline work
- Do routine and boring things
- Talk to your parents
- Delay gratification and remain patient
- Exercise and walk outside
- Change your environment
- Don’t do anything drastic
- There’s a way out
