I know how difficult life can get sometimes. It pushes us into these situations that test every ounce of strength in us. I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times I thought to myself that maybe giving up was the only option left for me.
That maybe giving up was so much easier than facing everything that was going through. If you’re currently feeling the same way, I want you to know this first, no matter what is that you are going through right now, there is always a way out of this and it’s not giving up.
Regardless of how defeated and drained you already feel, you are strong enough to move forward and to keep going. I know that doing this is often so much easier said than done, but there are ways that we can help ourselves push through the heaviness and keep going.
In this blog post, I will be sharing with you the steps that I took that helped me push through on days when I feel like giving up. These steps may not have solved my problems right away, but they did give me the strength and hope that I needed to make it through the day and continue fighting.
I’m hoping that some of these steps will resonate with you and help you on your darkest days, too.
How To Keep Going When You Feel Like Giving Up
1. Focus On One Small Win Every day
When we are going through so many problems, it’s so easy to allow ourselves to only focus on these huge wins. We tend to ignore every small win that we have achieved and let ourselves believe that the only type of wins worth celebrating are those that are big and loud.
But that’s not true. We have to remind ourselves that even the smallest win counts, especially when we already feel so overwhelmed and drained. That small win that we allow ourselves to celebrate might just be the push that we need to keep going even when everything feels heavy.
One of the lessons that I’ve learned is that allowing ourselves to just focus on one small win every single day doesn’t mean that we are being self indulgent or that we are not aiming high. It simply means that we are choosing to hold on to even the tiniest bit of hope available to help us keep pushing through.
I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times this practice has become such a lifesaver for me. Doing this helps me fuel my motivation and drive to keep fighting on days when I feel like giving up.
So, please don’t ever hesitate to try this practice, especially when life feels too heavy. Allow yourself to focus on just one simple win. Even if it’s just choosing to get out of bed or choosing to tackle one simple problem or task. Know that these simple actions matter so much more than you think.
Let these small wins serve as your proof that you are still fighting and you are still showing up for yourself, even when giving up feels easier.
2. Repeat Positive Affirmations
To be honest with you, for the longest time, I’ve never truly believed in the power of repeating positive affirmations. I thought that they were just nothing but empty words.
But I was certainly wrong. It was in a moment of pure desperation, a season where I was facing back-to-back problems and disappointment that pushed me to try this practice. I realized that the more I keep repeating certain phrases to myself, especially when I feel so overwhelmed and on the verge of giving up, the more those words start to sink in and actually help change my perspective and outlook.
Saying, “Just take it one day at a time”, when I feel so overwhelmed and my mind is filled with so many worries actually helps soothe and calm the noise inside my mind. Repeating this affirmation to myself helps serve as my reminder that I don’t have to figure everything out all at once.
All I need to do is just focus on the things that I can do today and for me, doing this not only helps lessen the overwhelm that I was feeling but it also helps me keep going and keep trying.
While I know that repeating these affirmations may not help solve my problems but it does help give me the strength, hope, and motivation that I need to keep moving forward. They may not act as instant solutions but they can help shift our focus away from the negativity and toward resilience and hope.
Here are some of my favorite affirmations whenever I feel like giving up:
I have within me the strength to overcome whatever life throws my way.
I have survived difficult seasons before, I will survive this too.
I choose to focus only on the things that I can control and I let go of the rest.
Just take things one step at a time.
Breathe. You got this.
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3. Break Problems Into Small And Manageable Steps
When we are going through so many problems, we often get this urge to solve everything all at once. I’m certainly guilty of this. When I was going through a hard time, I wanted to turn my situation around as soon as possible. I thought that if I continued to push myself to fix and solve everything at once, then I would finally feel some peace.
But I was wrong. What it did was the exact opposite. Wanting to solve all my problems at once only made everything so overwhelming to a point that it paralyzed me. Instead of actually doing something, I ended up frozen and unable to do anything because I was overwhelmed.
Not only that, it also just made things so much heavier. This constant pressure that I put on myself to fix everything just made it so difficult for me to keep going and when something was not improving the way I planned, I just ended up feeling more defeated and hopeless.
This made me realize just how crucial it is to take small steps. We have to remind ourselves that we don’t need to have everything figured out. Let’s focus on one single problem and break down the steps that we need to take to fix that problem into small and manageable steps.
We don’t always have to take these huge leaps just to feel like we are moving forward. Often the best thing that we can do, especially when life already feels too heavy and we are barely hanging on, is to give ourselves permission to take just one small step.
4. Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Help
I know that we probably heard this phrase a thousand times before but still, let’s be honest, often doing this is still too difficult. I also struggle with this. For the longest time, I have always found it so difficult to ask for help even when I’m already drowning.
For me, it’s so much easier to just pretend to the people that I love that I was doing perfectly fine than to admit to them that I actually wasn’t. I also believed that since these are my problems then naturally, I should be the only one who should fix them.
I know that they also have their own struggles and I didn’t want to add any more burden to their lives. So, even during my lowest period, I still refused to ask for their help. I kept putting on this facade that I was doing okay and that I had everything figured out.
But over time, doing this just made things harder. It isolated me from the people that I love and I constantly felt that I was alone. It made it so much more difficult to keep fighting. One of the things that I’ve learned while I was navigating the lowest period of my life is that asking for help and admitting to other people that we are not okay doesn’t make us a burden.
Please always remember that the people who truly love and care for you actually want to be by your side during your lowest moments. Asking for help doesn’t mean that we failed or that we are weak. I honestly believe that one of the strongest things that we can do, especially when we feel like giving up, is to reach out and ask for support.
I know that sometimes we want to convince ourselves that we can handle our problems on our own, but honestly, no one is really meant to go through life alone. Sometimes, things just get too heavy for us to carry them alone and we just need someone in our corner to remind us that we are not doing it alone.
So, please don’t ever hesitate to ask for help. There will always be people who are willing to listen and be there for you. You don’t have to go through this alone.
5. Focus Only On The Next 5 Minutes
One of the best coping strategies that I’ve learned when I was navigating my rock bottom is allowing myself to just focus on getting through the next five minutes.
I know that this may sound silly but when everything around us feels too overwhelming and when we are on the verge of just giving up, focusing on the next five minutes just makes things a little lighter. It’s like we are saying to ourselves that we don’t have to think about how we are going to get through this week or month, we just have to think about getting through the next five minutes.
And then once we do that, we then give ourselves permission to focus on the next five minutes. Doing this not only made life less overwhelming and scary, but it also made what seems to be insurmountable and impossible feel more manageable.
When you feel suffocated by the thought of having to go through this difficult season, allow yourself to just focus on the next five minutes. You don’t have to think about how long it takes to turn your situation around. All you need to think about is the next five minutes and the things that you can do during that time frame to help you feel more centered and to bring yourself some comfort.
6. Remind Yourself Of Past Challenges You’ve Already Survived
I honestly believe that this is one of the best things that we can do every time we feel so defeated and hopeless. When we are facing so many struggles and disappointments, it is so easy to start believing that maybe we are not strong enough to handle this.
It’s so easy to start doubting ourselves and our capabilities and think that maybe we don’t have what it takes to better and improve our situation. This is often the reason why we start to believe that giving up is our only option. In moments like these, the best thing to do is to allow ourselves a moment to reflect on all the other times we thought we wouldn’t be able to survive and yet we are here.
Still fighting. That only proves that we have within us this invaluable strength that will carry us through every difficulty. Think about all the times you thought you wouldn’t be able to pull yourself out of rock bottom and yet you did. Take that as a reminder of your courage, resilience, and unwavering strength.
You have gone through so many difficulties and struggles and yet you continued to persevere, you made it through. You can do this again.
Final Thoughts
I may not know what you are currently going through but please know that I truly believe in my heart that you will make it through. You have already taken the first step by reading this post, you have shown yourself that you are still willing to look for hope and encouragement to help you keep fighting and that alone speaks volumes.
I know that life can often be difficult and honestly, sometimes quite cruel, but please always remember that what you are going through is not going to be your forever. This is just a chapter in your life. This is just temporary. Soon things will get better.
Continue to believe in your strength and resilience. Find hope even in the smallest moments and please always remember that I’m rooting for you.
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