“On the road to their destiny, halfway through, every person will be tempted to give up. Some turn around and go back. The others stay committed and keep moving forward. What’s interesting, is both people travel the same distance. One goes halfway back to where they started, the other goes halfway ahead and reaches their goal. Committed people outlast the difficulty.” – Joel Osteen
Life’s unpredictable. We may try to find a bit of certainty, or create it, and we may think or do or adopt certain behaviors, but the truth is, we never know what’s going to happen.
We, of course, have expectations. We imagine the world in a certain way, life happening at a certain pace, the universe being governed by a strict set of rules.
You work hard, you do your best, the universe rewards you.
This is what most successful people will tell you, this is what overcoming adversity is supposed to be defined as.
Every single time you give your best, you reach your goal. You get whatever you want.
Well, the truth is that sometimes you do give your best. And you do work sixteen hours a day. And you sacrifice a lot. And you do these things over and over again until there’s nothing left. There really isn’t.
You’re broken. The pursuit has broken your spirit in half. You’ve lost heart, again and again and again.
You gave your best, and it didn’t work. You failed.
And that’s when most people quit. Well, most people never make it to this part. After all, if you gave a valid effort, and it didn’t work, then why should you pursue?
Are you insane?
Yes. You must be.
When everything is against you, when you’ve lost, again and again and again, when there’s no more energy, no more time, no more money, when no one gives a damn about you and your dreams, when you feel alone, broken, tired, when you just want to roll over and die, that’s when it’s time to push even further.
The road to success is paved with anger, bitterness, being told “no” over and over again, failure, petty frustrations, the endless grind, more failure, the mind-numbing, graceless task of becoming great, even more failure, pain, all forming a river of blood, sweat, and tears, and then having to swim across it.
I cannot explain this to you, but if you quit when it hurts the most, you’ll never get rid of the pain. It will hurt for the rest of your life, and you will be forever doomed to regret it.
But if you persevere, however, you will be successful. In an almost magical way. As if the universe falls in love with the most stubborn of hearts, rewards those who give more than they get for longer than anyone else.
Do you want to make your dreams come true?
Stop at nothing, give your best, and never accept defeat.
And you’ll make your dream come true. Someday. When you least expect it. Long after others have given up.
As they say, it’s never crowded on the extra mile.
For the writer, hopefully digging is as gratifying as reaching the diamonds. If not, get on a boat and look for sunken treasure or some process that in itself is rewarding.
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The struggle alone pleases us, not the victory.
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It’s about the journey and cultivating a life worth living. And, if the universe smiles on you, its about making a living during that journey.
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Hi there, Thank you so much for sharing this post. It’s exactly what I needed to hear today, was feeling slightly weak. God bless!
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Thank you, Diane. Glad to have been of help.
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A great piece of writing, and just what I needed to read as I make my way through NaNo. Thank you!
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Thank you for this post. Right now, I’m at that wanting to roll over and die stage; but something in me knows that if I throw in the towel and quit I’ll never know what was on the other side of the brick wall that I’m now facing. Yes, I’ve given everything my best shot, and my best wasn’t good enough. I failed at the one thing I needed to prove to myself; however I take consolation in knowing that if I keep going, I’m not going in my own strength. It will be the strength that comes from knowing that you only fail when you give up.
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Superb content and it send all the positive vibes whoever gonna read it…Well done.
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Love this…………”if you persevere you will be successful.
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Thank you for the words of motivation when they are required for sure.
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My pleasure!
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Bless your soul, Cristian. You always know just what to say. I’ve been struggling with this a lot lately.
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Thank you so much, Dainelle.
I am glad you enjoyed reading this post of mine.
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This is good for recovering from physical illness as well.
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Persistence, stubbornness, hard work and effort should all be rewarded but it’s not always the one you expect.
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Thank you. I needed this today
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You’re welcome!
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Very inspirational post! Perseverance wins many victories for the contender who is not the strongest, nor the more intelligent, nor the one most talented. The drip, drip of water will bore a hole in rock over time!
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Thank you, Harry.
And, yes, perseverance is irreplaceable.
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