Giving up is not going to bring us any value or bring us any closer to accomplishing our dreams. Whether we face discouragement, rejection, failure, disappointment, pain, trauma or a myriad of other setbacks that we encounter in life, we simply can’t give up.  We have to face our challenges head-on determined to overcome them without seeing any other option but to succeed.  We have to believe and understand that no matter what life throws at us, once we open ourselves up to the possibility of triumph, then giving up will never be an option because once you choose hope, anything is possible. 

There are many reasons why people want to give up, each driven by a different motivation ranging from: a lack of discipline or realising that your dream requires you to work to achieve it; a failure to adapt to change or not accepting changes in direction and the need to adjust your ideas accordingly as things evolve; and self-sabotage or seeing failure in your thoughts before it even happens; to focusing more on the outcome than the journey or putting more emphasis on the end result than how it will be achieved. More often than not, we say that our breakthrough comes just in the moment right after we decided we simply could not give up. This happens because as much as we dislike to feel demotivated or feel like a failure we decide to hang on just a bit longer because we know deep down whatever it is that we want is achievable if we are determined enough.   

For us to be truly motivated and overcome our weakness, no matter how great the challenge is, we have to break down what we see as our big obstacle into smaller obstacles, so that we can tackle them one by one until we overcome them all.  At the outset this may seem impossible and like the hardest thing that you will ever have to deal with but you must remember all that you have overcome in the past and use that as fuel for your motivation. No matter what the challenge you’re facing may be, there’s a reason it’s challenging to you. Be patient with yourself knowing that no one becomes a CEO overnight. So if you have big dreams then you are going to have to do big work to accomplish them. It’s okay to take time figuring out the best way to proceed, but it’s not okay to walk away because it’s challenging.

Once you have begun the work, be proud of yourself for every small win because once we make small strides in achieving our goals it is worthy to recognize this as a step in the right direction. When we make mistakes it may affect us for days and can make us want to give up so if we fail to pat ourselves on the back for small victories, it could also decrease our motivation and make it much harder to achieve bigger goals. It is important to remember that we all experience setbacks at some time or another. 

We tend to believe that we are the only ones that face difficult choices or events in our lives, often forgetting that we are not the first/only/last to experience this. Everyone faces hard decisions, be it deciding to end a relationship, changing careers, moving to a different place and leaving friends behind. We all go through it so don’t be afraid to reach out to your friends or family to talk about these challenges as they may even be able to offer you advice you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.

Our character is built during these hard times reminding us that the old cliche, “what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger” is true. When we go through something challenging, we learn from it, regardless of the outcome and recognize the opportunities therein for learning and personal development. No matter how hard the challenge you’re facing may be, one of the best things you can focus on is that you have choices. Only you can decide how you handle something and the steps you take, in fact, only you can decide how you take the next step. You have the power to stand in your own way and to get out of it so instead of giving up, allow yourself to stay motivated by choosing to be motivated.

Always see your setbacks or challenges as lessons as, in most cases, they are there to point you in a direction you have previously not considered. Trust in this and keep going with the knowledge that great things never come easy. When difficult times stop you in your tracks, you need a way to push through; you need to learn and understand what exactly it is that is truly demotivating you. Then you need to adjust your mindset, learn to deal with challenges, get and stay motivated and you will emerge a much stronger, wiser and more successful person. 

Andre' W. Reid
Events/Communications Consultant
Andre Wayne Enterprise (A.W.E.)