7 Things To Think About When You Feel Like Giving Up
Are you at a point where tree future looks so bleak that you cant even bear the thought of another day?
Are you frustrated because no matter how hard you try, you keep facing one disappointment after another?
If your answer to any of these questions are yes, then this article is for you. Here are seven things you need to know.
- Are you on the right path?
Think of a man setting out on a journey. He packs his bags, says good bye to his loved ones, and then starts his journey. As he walks on the smooth road, the road diverges into two roads. He has no map. There are no signs telling him which road to take. So, he chooses one path, only to find out that it is rocky and filled with wild animals. He took the wrong road. Now the man sits on the road, tired and dejected. He wants to give up on the journey. He wants to go home.
This is the story of some of us.
The reason why we feel like giving up is because we are facing serious challenges as a result of taking the wrong road. Sometimes we took the wrong road because just like the man in the story, we didn’t know the difference between the right and wrong road. And sometimes, we took the wrong road because we chose the wrong road intentionally.
Unfortunately, no one but you can tell the difference between challenges that come from being on the right road and the challenges that come from being on the wrong road. You have to look around you and read the signs. What is your heart telling you? What signs are life giving you?
If you are sure you are on the wrong path, there is no shame in re-strategizing your journey so you can get on the right path.
- Everyone has been where you are
If you are on the right path and you are still feel like giving up because the journey is too tough, everyone has been in your shoes. Yes! Everyone. From the old woman who feels like throwing in the towel on life to the little boy who feels like he will never learn how to ride a bicycle, everyone has moments when they feel like they can’t go on. Billionaires have those moments. Market women have those moments, too. So do not think that you are alone. Your circumstances may be unique but the feeling is the same with everyone.
- Take a moment to look back at the good times
When we are in a difficult circumstance, it can be of much help to look back on your journey.
Are you going through a difficult time in your business? Look back on your journey. Why did you start your business? How did you feel when you paid the first rent for your office space? What were your mission and vision?
Are you going through a difficult time in your marriage? Look back on your journey. How did it feel when you first met your husband or wife? What were the vows you said to each other on your wedding day? Where did you spend your honeymoon?
Remembering these moments helps bring some perspective to your current situation. You may even remember moments such as this one, moments when you wanted to quit.
What was it that kept you going? If it worked then, maybe it will work again this time…
- Be careful not to get stuck in the past
As much as you want to remember the good times of the past, it is important that you only visit the past, and not get stuck there. When we are going through tough times, it is easy to run back to old patterns, habits, lovers and so on. All of a sudden, the things that we left in the past for good reason take on a new sheen. This is when addictions are resumed. This is when destructive relationships are reawakened. You have to remember why you left those things behind in the first place.
- Measure your journey
Sometimes, when things get hard, we forget how much progress we have made. You need to take some time to measure your journey. You may not be where you want to be, but you are definitely not where you used to be.
Take a sheet of paper and document the progress you have made.
What have you achieved since you started your journey? What milestones have you reached? How have you changed as a person?
By the time, you are done with this exercise, you may realise that you are not doing as bad as you thought you were. Even if you have not made much progress, small progress is still progress.
- Everyone is not doing better than you
Let us delve into the life of Ejiro. She is 26, beautiful, and successful. But there is just one problem: Ejiro is not in a serious relationship. The reason why Ejiro doesn’t have a boyfriend is because for the past three years, Ejiro chose to be celibate. Whenever she tells this to any of the men who are interested in her, they run before Ejiro can finish saying the word ‘celibate’. So now Ejiro feels like giving up on this celibacy thing because everyone around her is getting married, and she is all alone. She thinks that all her friends are doing better than her. She wants to have a husband and children, just like all of her friends.
What Ejiro does not know is that all her friends’ marriages are not as happy as they seem. What Ejiro does not know is that the quantity of her challenges weigh the same as those of her friends – it is just that their circumstances are different. Thankfully, Ejiro does not give up her celibacy. She continues going because she believes that her story will end well, one day.
We all go through challenges; No one is spared. So, never give up because you think that everyone is doing better than you. Like a wise Pastor once said, “If everyone opens their mouth to tell you what they are going through, you will be shocked.”
- One day, the dots will connect
Steve Jobs, in his famous Harvard commencement speech, said “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”
Look back at your life. Do you see the dots connecting? Have there been any moments like this one, when you felt like giving up? How do you view those moments today? Are you grateful because they helped shape you into the person you are today? Are you smiling now, as you think about those moments?
If you are smiling as you think of those moments, one day in the near future, the dots will connect and you will smile as you think of this moment.
If you feel inspired after reading this post, share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.
