The secret of our success is that we never, never give up.—Wilma Mankiller, Principle Chief of the Cherokee, 1985-1995
Today’s picture is rarely posted because we typically go with the more familiar frame that resembles the famous Rosie the Riveter illustration from World War II. In some ways, though, I prefer this to the original because it demonstrates that strong and independent women don’t stop being attractive and sexy. That never give up attitude has its own form of attraction that is accentuated in the full-length pose. Jennifer Baxter did a great job on the body art, too, don’t you think?
This time of year, a lot of people look at what hasn’t been accomplished and give up. Actually, this time of year, a lot of people have difficulty just getting out of bed. When the sun doesn’t even start coming up until you’re already half-way through your morning, it screws with one’s sense of place and time. After fighting the same emotions day in and day out, persevering becomes a tremendous challenge. That’s why we have today’s list.
6 Reasons To Never Give Up
Plenty of people didn’t succeed on their first try; giving up removes the opportunity to win.
Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. Julia Child didn’t start cooking until she was in her mid-30s. Dr. Ruth Westheimer survived the Holocaust, immigrated to the US, raised a family, and didn’t even start talking about sex until she was in her 50s. Keep trying. Amazing things are yet to happen.
You can’t see the future; giving up denies you the victory right around the corner.
There are no crystal balls. Horoscopes are ineffective. That line about once a loser always a loser? Absolute bullshit. Â There’s no giant carrot dangling in front of us, but that doesn’t mean that the reward isn’t waiting for us to get there. Keep going. You’re almost there.
There’s only one you; giving up leaves a void no one else can fill.
What you do, your voice, your presence in the universe is wholly unique and the universe relies on you being here, being you, to make everything complete. No one can take your place. No one else has your perspective. You are the one piece to the puzzle that makes the picture complete.
No one is going to just hand you success; giving up takes you out of contention.
You cannot win the race you haven’t run. While that sounds like a rather simple platitude, the reality is that success doesn’t just show up at the front door after you’ve been sitting on your ass all day. Imagine the futility of planting a garden but never watering it. If you want the food, if you want the car, if you want anything, you have to get up and go get it; life doesn’t have an at-home delivery service.
Darkness doesn’t last forever; giving up makes you blind to the sunrise yet to come.
There are days when life seems to have been going on for so very, very long without any noticeable progress and you just want to go back to bed and sleep all day. Darkness has a way of making us think that it is going to last forever, but it lies. Sunrise is inevitable, but one has to stay awake long enough to see it. Now is not the time for a nap.
You are setting an example; when you give up, you teach others to give up as well.
One doesn’t have to be famous or a parent or in a position of authority to be a role model. No matter who you are, no matter how isolated you may feel, someone is watching you and is patterning their own life after yours. The responsibility we have to persevere is tremendous. Sometimes what ends up making the biggest difference is the legacy we leave for someone else to follow. Your legacy has yet to be written.
It’s Tuesday and this is a short week. You’ve got this. Get up, get dressed and  make things happen!
Note: After all that talk I need to make one point very clear: if you even think you may be suffering from any form of depression, please seek professional help. Feeling unmotivated, frustrated with a current situation, or just tired from working too long without a break are situations we can conquer on our own; depression is not. Depression is a disease that kills too many people. Please, get help.