Never give up! It is during moments of discouragement or despair – when you aren’t sure if you can really make it—that success can be found as you reach deep down and fight back with courage, faith, and the spirit of resilience.

Everyone will face a challenge or crisis at some point in their life that will test their resolve. Maybe it will be the sudden death of a loved one, a financial setback, a personal health issue, and so on. Often these challenges come when you least expect them. There are steps you can take and things you can do to prepare mentally and emotionally for those challenges.

It won’t be the crisis that takes you down—what can take you down is giving up. Those who persevere, who are resilient at these times, can prosper, even in the worst of times. They look inside themselves and find something to believe in. When a person pivots, adjusts, or finds a way, nothing can stop that person from success no matter what happens, you will come out as a stronger person.

As you go through these exercises, we hope you’ll be able to look within yourself and identify an inspiring purpose to drive you forward through any challenge or crisis. We hope you’ll commit to Never Give Up!

Developing the “Never Give Up” Mindset

The first enemy we must confront in order to achieve our vision and goals is our own internal scripts. These scripts might tell us the task is too large, the goal too distant, our talents too few, or the resources too scarce. These voices are our “enemies within.” If we do not subdue and replace them, they will result in discouragement and defeat. We must not let the “enemy within” convince us to give up, to be afraid of the cost, or to believe our critics.

Continuing to think you can win when the score seems out of reach is not a gift but a decision you need to make. View the video below to take a closer look at what this Mindset means.

The average adult thinks approximately 60,000 thoughts per day, and 90% of them are the same day-to-day – finances, children, work, health, etc. Interestingly, 70% of those thoughts also tend to be negative. So, one of the first steps to developing the “Never Give Up” mindset is to transform our thinking.

Three Keys to Never Giving Up

There are three steps to help bolster your determination and inspire you to keep striving to achieve your dreams and goals, no matter what opposition, challenges, or failures you experience.

1. Change Your Thoughts

Most of the time, who is the greatest enemy you face?

It’s you! It’s not your competition. It’s not someone else. It’s usually the insecurities and self-doubts that are hovering between your ears. Too often, we serve as our own biggest critics and doubters. We love what Zig Ziglar used to say about this: “We need to get rid of Stinkin’ Thinkin’.”

We all have to overcome the negative thoughts and self-criticism that spring up just when we need a boost of confidence instead.

2. See the Value of Failure

Once we defeat the enemy of negative thought, we are empowered to see failure as a learning process rather than a roadblock. When you experience failure, you may be overwhelmed with anxiety and hopelessness. You might even call yourself stupid, blind, or careless. Some people think of failure as a reflection of who they are rather than a result of an unfortunate experience. Self-criticism can be healthy if it is taken in small doses, but you have to counteract it with equal measures of self-forgiveness and determination. Your failures do not define your life unless you allow that to happen.

The healthier alternative is to learn from each setback or "failure" and ask yourself, "What can I learn from this?" Rather than mentally and emotionally beating yourself up, learn from it, and move on.

3. Hold On to Your Vision!

The second most significant predictor of longevity (next to relationships) is having a purpose. In other words, it’s having a personal vision similar to what you developed in Principle #2 of this course.

We don’t ask for challenges or adversity. But, unfortunately, they often come when we least expect them. If you were to experience any significant setback or tragedy, do you have a strong enough purpose (or vision) to forgive, persevere, and keep going?

We invite you to finish developing your written personal vision if you haven’t already done it. If necessary, review Principle #2 – Lead with a Vision. If you did finish your vision earlier in the course, consider whether or not it’s meaningful enough to carry you through any adversity or challenge. Consider making any refinements to your vision so that you can draw on it for inner peace and resilience.

Summary

Now, let’s review the three keys.

1. Change your thoughts. Don’t allow destructive voices, yours or others, to hold a place in your mind. Surround yourself with people who encourage you to succeed. Cancel the negative thoughts and allow room for only the positive. Defeat the enemy within through an inspired vision and goals backed up by hard work and action.
2. See the value in failure. Failure is often an important step on the pathway to success. It is simply a rung on the ladder. You should not fear failure. Instead, find ways to learn and grow from it. Celebrate the opportunities provided by failure, even if it’s discouraging and disappointing at first. You are at your best when you stand and say, “I can do it better next time.”
3. Hold on to your vision! Review your vision and consider whether or not it’s meaningful enough to carry you through any adversity or challenge. Make any refinements to your vision that you need so that you can draw on it for inner peace and resilience.

1. Think of an experience in your life when you felt like it was tough to go on or you were tempted to quit. What were the feelings surrounding that experience?
2. From that experience, what was the result of not giving up? What can you learn from that experience?
3. List several things you can do next time you find yourself in a challenging situation to press on and not give up.

See the Value in Failure

One of the significant leadership challenges is knowing how to bring up difficult issues and create an ally rather than an enemy.

Interestingly, if you look through history, almost everyone who’s left a legacy of greatness has also had numerous failures – failure seems to be a critical part of success!

When failure comes, we should view it as an opportunity to learn and look for the valuable lessons that experience can teach us.

Look for the lessons learned by the people who made the following quotes and consider their mindset: