Five Reasons to Persevere and Not Give Up

When is the last time you wanted to give up on something or someone? Today you might feel that way or maybe it was just yesterday. You are not alone! 

They say that 70% of people quit their job every day. But then most of them come back the next day because they realize quitting isn’t the best option! 

There are times when quitting is advisable, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. I’m talking about that inner quality we all need to cultivate — perseverance. To hang in their quitting is not the best option. 

Continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.

Definition of Perseverance

Where do you need the encouragement to hang in there?

• a task?
• a job?
• an education?
• a relationship?
• a habit?
• a change?
• a community?
• yourself?

Regardless of the context you might find yourself in, I want to give you five reasons to keep going and not quit.

Five Reasons Why You Should Persevere and Not Give Up

1. Others need the encourage you give by simply handing in there.

Whether we realize it or not, others draw strength from our perseverance. Don’t just keep going for you, keep going because the perseverance of others is tied to your tenacity (your kids, your friends, your partner, your neighbor, your colleagues).

2. One year from now you’ll be glad you did.

Sometimes the toughest situations take on a whole new meaning looking back on them — and look small in hindsight. What seems like an impossible situation today, may be the time when the tide actually turned in a positive direction.

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you…never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. — Harriet Beecher Stowe

Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. — F. Scott Fitzgerald

3. Pressing on in the midst of a struggle will strengthen your ability to persevere in the future.

If we give up on something today, we might be forfeiting the workout that will build muscle for a greater challenge in the future. Hardship comes to us all and adversity goes with life on this planet. Tests and trials today prepare you for bigger struggles yet to come.

Every strike brings me closer to the next home run. — Babe Ruth

4. The greater the struggle, the deeper the lesson.

If you want to grow in wisdom and grit, sticking it out when the going gets tough is often one of the best teachers. If you give up too soon, you may miss a life changing lesson that you need to be the person you want to become.

I walked a mile with Pleasure; she chatted all the way;
But left me none the wiser for all she had to say.
I walked a mile with Sorrow, and never a word said she;
But, oh the things I learned from her when Sorrow walked with me.

— Robert Browning Hamilton

5. Delayed gratification (in the long-term) is more rewarding than giving in to every natural impulse.

It may not feel like it in the moment, but waiting for a test to pass and exercising grit creates patience and ultimately greater joy in life. If you always give in to your emotional impulses and bailing when life gets hard, you’ll be a chronic quitter and with that comes a miserable life void of peace.

Final Thought

Now take a fresh look at your impossible situation that you want out of. Do you now have a reason to keep going because of where you’ll eventually end up?

It always seems impossible until it’s done.

— Nelson Mandela