Don’t Give Up Yet

Don’t Give Up Yet

Why your story isn’t over, even if today feels like the end

Photo by Claudia Wolff on Unsplash

There are days when life feels unbearably heavy. When you wake up already tired, but when your heart aches with questions that have no answer, when you trust you have not cast away all of your labor and energy. It is less effort to quit than to struggle in such situations.

I have worked where I felt like the sole solution was to resign. I have had ambitions that seemed far off, battles I was not sure I would win, and questions as to whether or not my story was worth retelling.

And yet when you come here and read such lines, I want to say to you, out of the depth of my heart, do not give up.

The Weight of Struggle

With struggle, we somehow get convinced that nothing will at all change. When you have been knocked down, over and over, when doors keep on closing to you, when your heart keeps on breaking, it is easy to think that this is all you have.

But fighting is no failure. Struggle means you’re alive. It is that you are still trying, still striving, still willing to hope even when all about you tells you not to.

All the scars on your heart, all the tears you’ve cried, all the nights when you thought you weren’t going to come through — all these are carving you into something you don’t know is stronger than you think you are.

Hope in Unexpected Places

The fact is, hope does not come very often in major dramatic scenes. It usually creeps in unannounced, nearly undetected.

It may appear as a sunrise following an insomniac night.

It could be a message from a caring person.

It could be a laugh you hadn’t thought of, to blast the gloom at least momentarily.

Or it might be merely the inaudible murmur in your chest that tells you: Not yet. Don’t give up yet.”

Those small sparks matter. They are evidence that, however grim and awful your mood is, life is still grabbing at you. You are not complete with the world.

Why You Should Hold On

I will not fool you; it is difficult to hang on. It tells you to wait and be patient when you are troubled, to trust and have faith when you are confused, and to give strength when you are weak. However, the point is that your story is not finished.

What you think of as pain may be the future soil. It is the work that is not obviously seen today, but might make the difference in your future.

Consider it: there was a time when every person who ever influenced you wanted to quit. There are no success stories that lack scars. All survivors have been familiar with hopelessness.

Photo by RAJA HARITSYAH on Unsplash

And you — you are no different. The you who is several years down the road will be thankful that you did not turn your back when it was most needed.

Rest Without Quitting

Resting should not be mistaken for giving up. You’re allowed to pause. To take a breath. To withdraw and get yourself together. No surrender, it is preparation.

The bravest thing you can do sometimes is to stop, do you some kindness to, and then get up.

If you need to cry, cry. If you need to sleep, sleep. Want you to sit in silence, sit. These are not weaknesses of pauses. They are part of the fight.

A Final Whisper

I have no idea what you are carrying this time around. Maybe it’s heartbreak. Maybe it’s failure. Perhaps it is the trampling pressure of dreams that are unattainable. But I do know this; you are not through with your story.

Don’t give up yet.

Not on yourself.

Not on love.

Not on the life before you.

Somewhere ahead, nearer than you imagine, is the point when everything changes. And when it comes, you will be thankful you held back a little longer.

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