Feeling overwhelmed and ready to give up is something many people experience. Life’s challenges can pile up, leaving you drained and uncertain about how to move forward. These moments can signal a need for rest, reflection and change. Ignoring these feelings can risk long-term harm, but addressing them can lead to personal growth and healing.
Your body often gives early warnings of burnout. You might feel constantly tired, even after a full night’s sleep. Frequent headaches, muscle tension, or stomach problems can also point to stress taking its toll. Are you experiencing unexplained aches or an ongoing sense of fatigue? These physical signs should not be ignored.
Beyond the physical, emotional symptoms can also provide clues. Do you often feel irritable or lose patience over minor inconveniences? Sadness, anxiety, or a feeling of emptiness might also be present. These emotions can make daily tasks seem much harder.
Have you noticed a growing disinterest in things you once enjoyed? Struggling to complete simple tasks or procrastinating more than usual? A lack of motivation can be a clear indicator that something isn’t right.
Immediate Steps to Take
Take a break! Sometimes, simply stepping back can make a huge difference. Allow yourself time to recharge, whether that means a short walk, a weekend off, or even a day of doing nothing. It’s not selfish to prioritise rest—it’s necessary.
Talking to someone you trust can bring relief. Speak with a friend, family member, or loved one who will listen without judgement. If you’re comfortable, consider joining a support group or reaching out to a mentor.
Mindfulness helps you stay present and avoid spiralling into negative thought patterns. Deep breathing exercises or guided meditation apps can be a good starting point. Try spending 10 minutes a day focusing on calming your mind.
Long-Term Strategies for Resilience
Holding yourself to impossible standards can be exhausting. Break larger tasks into smaller, manageable steps, and celebrate each win. Progress, no matter how small, is still progress.
Juggling too much can easily lead to burnout. Make time for the things that bring you joy, whether it’s a hobby, social activity, or simply relaxing. Balance between work, relationships, and personal time is key to maintaining energy.
Surrounding yourself with supportive people can act as a cushion during tough times. Build relationships with those who inspire you and encourage your growth. Avoid those who drain your energy or add unnecessary stress.
Sometimes it’s good to just walk away and give up. Life will usually tell you when. But if there is a goal that you sincerely wish to reach, then it’s good to have a bit of staying power. If everyone gave up at the first hurdle, then some of our greatest achievements would never be realised. This could be sticking with a relationship (if it’s worth it) or pursuing a goal like writing a book or building a business.
Sometimes life gives us lemons, and we have to get up and try again:
Failure is not falling down. But refusing to get back up. Chinese proverb
Fall down seven times. Stand up eight. Japanese proverb
If you feel sometimes that you life is one step forward and two steps back, have a rest, let things flow and ponder why this is. It’s natural to wish to quit. But in fact, we can learn from the animal kingdom, that seldom do fellow creatures give up. Could you imagine if bird parents spent ages building a nest, then it blew away in a storm? The birds would just set to work, to build another one.
Why Do So Many People Give Up?
Usually due to peer pressure, lack of self-confidence or self-sabotage tendencies. If you have a dream and someone shouts it down, it can be hard to keep going, unless you have tough inner strength. This is where healthy routines are good. If you look after yourself (good food, regular exercise, lots of sleep and being surrounded by positive people), it can keep you going.
Say you want to start a vegan bakery. The locals pooh-pooh it, and say nobody would buy plant-based cakes. So you give up. But what if instead, you take a course in vegan baking (so you know your cakes are better than anyone else in town), you create mood boards to ensure your new shop is as beautiful to look at, as the the cakes are tasty. You price the cakes fairly, get fit yourself (so people know that eating vegan cakes now and then won’t do any harm). And then join Vegan Business Tribe for good advice, and ‘your own kind’ of people to urge you on. See the difference? The second scenario means you are less likely to give up!
Setting Realistic Goals
If you set silly goals (like becoming a millionaire or building a successful business in a few months), forget it. Think long-term – say one or two years. Break down your big goal into smaller ones:
- Make a business plan
- Create a menu
- Find affordable premises
- Taste-test on everyone
- Open a simple business account
- Launch and slowly grow
- Tweak and improve your business
- Reduce hours or hire staff
- Buy your dream home!
Don’t work yourself into the ground. If you have relationship problems, seek counselling to help you through things. If you’re grieving, do the same. If you need some skills, take a course (long-term, so it’s worth the paper it’s written on). If you yearn to be an ecological landscape gardener, you’re not going to learn these skills after a 3 month correspondence course. Rather a 2-year course in person somewhere, maybe attending college once a week. It may take longer. But say you’re 40 – in 2 years you’ll be earning more doing the job you love, perhaps for another 20 years or so. Don’t waste your life, doing things you hate!
I can’t change the direction of the wind. But I can adjust my sails, to always reach my destination. Jimmy Dean
You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. A. A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh)
Inspiring Stories of Those Who Never Give Up
Rich Roll is an American, who trained as a lawyer and was a star athlete at college. In his early 20s, he fell into drink and drugs, and lost most of his friends, and was likely going to end up in jail. He was also very overweight. One day when he could not climb a flight of stairs, he decided he had tired of this kind of life. So he dug out his running shoes, jumped into the pool, gave up drugs/alcohol and went vegan.
Today Rich (in his 60s) is one of the fittest men in the world. He regularly runs Ironman triathlons back-to-back, and writes best-selling cookbooks with his wife (a vegan chef), along with inspiring others with his popular podcasts.
To all those out there who feel stuck, lost, in a rut or just unable to transcend habits or behaviours that no longer serve you, understand that we are with you. You are all a vital part of this movement. Keep rising. We are with you in each breath, and in every moment. Rich Roll
Albert Einstein was regarded by many to be not very bright. In fact, he was sent out to become an insurance salesman. When he failed at that (!), he later went onto become one of the geniuses of our time. One of his discoveries is thought to have led to the invention of solar power.
You likely know the story of Fred Astaire. Everyone’s favourite film star failed at his first Hollywood audition. The screen test read ‘Can’t sing, can’t act – can dance a little!’ Fred was so thankful for his success, that he used to do all his dance routines in one take. If he made a mistake, he would ask to do it again.
Keanu Reeves is the man that all women love, and all men want to be like. Abandoned by his father and living with a seriously ill sister, he finally found fame and fortune, then happiness with his girlfriend. Their baby was stillborn and soon after, the mother of his child died in a tragic car accident. Today (nearing 60), he has finally found love and happiness again, with a woman he had enjoyed a platonic friendship with for eight years.
Elvis Presley was a social misfit as a child, and no good at music. Whilst working as a truck driver, he was told by his first manager (after his first concert) that ‘You ain’t goin’ nowhere son, you ought to go back to drivin’ a truck!’ He was then told by another powerful person that ‘he couldn’t sing!’ Before going on to become one of the best-loved recording artists of all time.
The list could go on and on:
- Basketball player Michael Jordan was once cut from his first team.
- Black actor Sidney Poitier was (in racist times) told to ‘go back to dishwashing’.
- The Beatles met with huge rejection, before their success.
- Carpenter Harrison Ford was told he had no ‘star factor’ when he wanted to act.
- Rudyard Kipling was sacked from a newspaper, as ‘he didn’t know how to write the English language’.
- Jerry Seinfield was booed off the stage, the first time he did stand-up.
- Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings were rejected.
- Even Mozart was told he had no talent!
An Inspiring Woman Who Never Gave Up
This true story is from Andrew Matthews’ book Happiness in Hard Times. If you feel like giving up, read this story, then ponder whether you really can’t carry on after all:
In the 90s, Alison Botha was a young attractive woman, living in her home in South Africa. One day, two men abducted and raped her. Then they stabbed her several times, removed some of her internal organs, slit her throat and left her to die. She dragged herself to the roadside, where a passing vet saved her life (he later became a ‘human doctor’ and helped deliver one of her children).
Understandably, Alison spent a long time in shock and trauma. But eventually, she decided she would put the attack to rest and move on. She later got married and had children, and founded an organisation to help bring peace to the world. She also collaborated on a film made about her extraordinary life.
In September 2024, Alison then suffered a huge aneurysm, having emergency brain surgery in Cape Town. Recently interviewed from hospital, she said that has ‘been through worse’ and determined to make a full recovery. She even joked that her sight has improved already, only seeing ‘3 versions of her brother’ instead of 9 when she first became ill.
