11 Reasons Why You Should Never Give Up

In the iconic best-seller, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill recounts some of the tales of the world’s most successful folks. In fact, he was tasked by Andrew Carnegie, the then-richest man in the world, to document the new philosophy of the accumulation of wealth. And one theme that ran rampant throughout the lives of each of the most successful and famous people in the world was that they refused to give up. They stuck it out. When the going got tough, they didn’t relent, pushing through the pain and the anguish of the moment to remerge at the so-called other end of the tunnel.

Somehow, they saw the light. They knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that they would eventually get there. No matter what it took, as long as they didn’t give up, they would reach the promise land. But hindsight is often twenty-twenty, as the saying goes. What happens when you’re knee-deep in the pain? How do you proceed when your finances or your relationship or your career is in complete and utter toil? How do you stick it out and come up with a good enough reason why you should not give up?

I won’t sit here and profess to you that it’s easy. But I will say this. Everything in your life and what you’re capable of boils down to a single thing. Your beliefs. When your beliefs are strong, nothing can stand in the way. Because, whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right. While we could go on and on about staying motivated and inspired, if you don’t have the rock-solid belief in yourself and your abilities, no amount of inspiration or motivation will push you through.

Why You Shouldn’t Give Up In Life

Some time ago, my life shattered into a million little pieces. And like shards of glass, it all came crashing down around me. As far as experiences go, it was traumatic to say the least. Everything imploded, seemingly at the same time. My business. Relationships. Finances. Friendships. And more. It was a pure and unfettered meltdown of the greatest proportions. But in that experience, I learned so much. I gleaned so many gold nuggets about life, love and the people all around me. The truth is that sometimes you can’t avoid failure or setbacks. But you never actually truly fail unless you give up.

But my experience isn’t unique. I’m not alone in failing miserably, then finding the will to not only survive, but to ultimately thrive. I know it’s hard to push through past the pain and the anguish and the resentments. It’s not easy. Nor will it ever be. But there’s something to say about having belief in yourself and in your abilities to eventually see things through. Yes. it’s difficult. But it is worthwhile. And anything worthwhile is never going to be easy, so you shouldn’t expect it to be so whatsoever.

However, I know that sometimes it’s easier said than done. When you’re wading through the seas of hopelessness, it’s easy to lose sight of what you want and why you wanted it in the first place. Often, that pain overtakes your desire to proceed. But when you want something as badly as you need the air in your lungs to breathe, eventually you figure out a way. You put up with humiliation and turmoil and rejection. You march forward with a hardened heart and a renewed sense of spirit to ultimately reemerge victorious, no matter how long it takes.

1. Good things come to those who wait

We live in an instant-gratification society. At every bend and turn, we expect things to come instantaneously. And when they don’t, we complain and lament about it. But the truth is that good things do come to those who wait. Clearly, when you give up, you cut yourself off from any potential for success. That doesn’t mean you can’t experience the ups and downs that come along with progress towards any goal. It just means that if you give up, you stifle any chance for eventual success. The truth is that it might take longer than you think so you should expect that.

2. Shiny object syndrome will hold you back from succeeding

It’s so easy to jump from one thing to the next. Especially in our society filled with shiny objects. There’s always some opportunity or thing that looks or sounds better than the current thing that we’re doing. Whether we’re talking about weight loss, relationships or making money, the same always holds true. There will always be something that looks cooler and sounds better. Don’t fall for it. Successful people make quick decisions and are slow to change them. Unsuccessful people constantly jump ship, taking a long time to make a decision and changing it quickly.

3. You can’t leave a legacy if you give up

It’s hard to achieve or attain a monumental goal. Even in the best of circumstances, it takes true grit and effort. Often, it takes far more than you initially think it will. But the problem isn’t in giving up on the goal that we set for ourselves. It’s not so much about losing a certain amount of weight or attaining a certain level of net worth. It’s more so about the impact and the legacy that you leave in this world. And if you give up now, how can you expect to truly do that thing you’ve always wanted to do and to leave a legacy for generations to come?

4. Understand that every goal is harder to reach than you think

Grant Cardone aptly described this so well in his book, The 10X Rule, which states that “you must set targets for yourself that are 10X more than what you think you want and then take 10X the action you think is required to get there.” Why? Because everything is going to take more effort than you initially think it will. No matter what type of goal we’re talking about, when you give up, you’re sending a clear message that you didn’t have what it takes. You didn’t have it in you to work harder and longer and put more effort in than you initially thought.

5. If you give up, you’ll always look back with resentment

Giving up doesn’t feel good. Ultimately, you will always look back with resentment on the things you could’ve, would’ve or should’ve done with your time and your life. Keep in mind that our time here is limited. Don’t waste it living life according to other people’s rules. Use it living live on your own terms and according to your rules. But to do that you have to invest the time now and work towards your goals and not give up. That doesn’t mean you can’t experience setbacks or even failure. But you won’t actually completely fail unless you give up for good.

6. Success often comes when you’re just about to give up

There have been so many interviews done with successful people who often reference that inflection point when they were just about to give up. They talk about all the pain and the turmoil of working tirelessly towards their goals. It’s always at that point, when you’re just about to throw in that proverbial towel, that you figure things out achieve success. But that’s understandable, because it shows the enormity and difficulty in big monumental goals. It also differentiates successful people from those that ultimately give up.

7. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again

You’ve likely heard this old adage before. It’s all but cliche in our society today. But there’s a reason for that. You’ll often hear successful people talk about their goals and how they often needed to change their plan or approach to reach their targets. Not the goal itself. Don’t change the goal. Just change the plan. If you see that one thing isn’t getting you there fast enough, change things up and take a different approach. You might have to try dozens, if not hundreds of different plans before you succeed, especially if you’re going after a massive, monumental goal.

8. You’re likely closer to your goal than you think you are

Here’s the truth. If you’re feeling frustrated right now and just want to give up, that’s actually a good sign. And that likely indicates that you’re far closer than you think. Usually, when we get to the end of our proverbial ropes, it’s because we’ve toiled for so long and have put in so much effort but think we’re no closer to our intended targets. That’s when we’re often wrong. Take a moment to step back and assess where you’re at and find the things you can appreciate about what you’ve already accomplished and reinvigorate yourself to move forward with a renewed sense of spirit.

9. Envision the bigger, brighter future awaiting you

Sometimes, it’s easy to get lost in the so-called weeds. When we’re building something or working towards a monstrous goal, that’s almost inevitable. Often, it takes refining our approach and only focusing on the tasks that move the proverbial needle. But when you’re feeling down and out and just want to give up, sometimes all you need to do is use the most powerful tool that you have. Your mind. Use it to envision a bigger and brighter future that’s awaiting you. Do it with fervor and gusto. Really close your eyes and go into a lucid state of envisioning a crazy future-based reality for yourself that’s so outlandish and ridiculous that it inspires you to keep pushing forward.

10. Get rid of the bad habits holding you back

It’s so easy to default to the behavior that we’ve become accustomed to over our lives. Years and decades worth of habitual behavior feels comfortable because it is. And we always want to default back to it. But that usually involves bad habits that are holding us back from achieving our big and lofty goals. You can’t expect to accomplish anything worthwhile if you’re constantly enthralled in bad habits. Get rid of them. Kick them to the curb. Yes, it’s easier said than done. But if you want to achieve your goal as badly as you want to breathe, then I promise you that you will find a way.

11. Sometimes all you need is a little discipline

It’s hard to achieve success. Especially when we’re talking about the big multi-year goals. The truth is that most people do give up. But not because they don’t want the result. They just don’t want to do the work to achieve the result. And at the end of the day, all they really need is a little discipline. No. Scratch that. A lot of discipline. If you don’t have discipline, you can’t achieve anything worthwhile. Why? Because discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments. Period. Figure out how you can instill the right amount of discipline in your life and go and do it immediately. Is it easy? Nope. Not one bit. But I assure you that it is worthwhile.

How To Achieve Your Goals

Look, we all know how difficult it is to achieve lofty goals. Sure, we want to give up. We want to throw in the towel. Oftentimes, it’s just too much to bear. Too much pain and struggle can make any person break. But of all the things that have helped me in my life, discipline has been the one thing that’s allowed me to achieve so much. It’s also allowed me to bounce back from the worst failures. If you have discipline, you truly can achieve anything. It doesn’t matter where you start. Sincerely, it doesn’t.

I was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, trapped in my mother’s spare bedroom when I decided to start writing to create passive income. And that led me to a world of understanding how to leverage my time once and get paid repeatedly. If you’ve been struggling with failure or just wanting to give up, learn how to discipline yourself the right way so that you can achieve those lofty goals. Discipline is the one skill that will help you get from where you are today to where you want to be. I can promise you that.