What do I do when I feel like giving up

4 reminders to move forward

🏷️ Categories: Goals, Motivation, Habits.

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Today I’m not in the mood.
Today, writing feels hard.
Today is one of those days when words just don’t want to come out.

It’s been 461 days since February 16, 2024, when I wrote the first article for Jardín Mental. During those 461 days, I’ve written one new article every two days. Week after week. Month after month. Year after year. Without fail. That’s 213 articles written so far.

But today… today it’s tough.

If you’ve ever struggled to stay consistent with something that really matters to you, maybe what I’m feeling will sound familiar. There are days when, despite all your discipline, all the habits you’ve built… you just don’t feel like it.

You’re not the only one it happens to.

I go through it too, and I know you’re also trying, even when it’s hard. That’s why I’ll share four reminders I use to keep going on those days when giving up feels far too tempting.

The worst moments demand the best of us.

1. Quiet the Inner Voice

The person you spend the most time with is yourself.

We spend our days in constant internal dialogue. When that dialogue becomes repetitive and negative, it’s called rumination. You can’t stop thinking about that bad or stressful event, and everything pulls you back to it again and again. You know what I mean…

I’ve felt it sometimes when I’m unhappy with my latest writing.

“No one will read this.”
“This isn’t good enough.”
“Why am I even doing this?”
“I have nothing interesting to say.”

These kinds of thoughts pop up, I feel discouraged, and I want to give up. But I try not to take it too seriously. The brain processes stimuli and then creates emotions. Emotions come first, reasoning comes later (Goleman, 2012).

We react impulsively first, and think calmly afterward.

This is called an “emotional hijack,” and it clouds our reasoning. When I see my performance isn’t what I hoped, I first feel deeply discouraged. Only later do I start thinking about what I can do to change it. You have to let the emotion pass and not rush into any decisions.

I go for a walk.

I take a break and create some distance. I stop thinking about the pieces I feel are “failures” and remind myself that if I continue for just one more day, my habit will grow stronger, discouragement will happen less often, and the quality of my writing will improve.

The same mind that’s telling you to quit today will motivate you to keep going tomorrow.

Don’t let fleeting emotions make decisions for you.

Step back, pause, let the emotional wave pass. Then act with clarity.

2. Tomorrow, You’ll Thank Yourself

Discomfort. Tiredness. Frustration. Lack of motivation. All of it is temporary.
None of it is permanent.

Your workout ends in an hour.
That awkward conversation will be over in minutes.
That article that just won’t come together will eventually get written.

Perseverance isn’t built on easy days. It’s forged here, now, when you don’t want to keep going—but you do. You will never, I repeat, never regret doing good work and sticking with it on the day you wanted to quit.

Maybe right now you hate it.
Maybe right now it feels pointless.
Maybe the weight of your doubts is so heavy it feels impossible.

But when you finish that paragraph, when you send that email, when you do that last rep, when you talk to that person… you’ll feel proud. You’ll feel capable. You’ll strengthen the identity you want to embody—you’ll become the person you want to be.

Every time you do the right thing, even when you don’t feel like it, you reinforce your perseverance.

Writing when you’re inspired is easy.
What matters is writing when you feel like you have nothing to say.

You will never regret doing what, deep down, you really want to do.

As I like to remind myself on these kinds of days: “Tomorrow, I’ll thank myself.”

3. Try Indirect Procrastination

When we talk about procrastination, we often focus on the guilt of wasting time when we could be doing something we should be doing.

But there’s another way to look at it: indirect procrastination.

Think about this: a procrastinator can be incredibly hardworking at low-priority tasks, doing everything except what they’re supposed to (Perry, 2012). That’s what I do when I feel like giving up and laziness hits: I do writing-related tasks that require less energy or priority.

• Review and improve earlier drafts.

• Read or listen to podcasts for inspiration.

• Outline the next newsletter even if I don’t write it that day.

Instead of wasting the day, I do things I want to do.

That’s indirect procrastination—a way to keep moving forward even on your worst day.

It only works if you love what you do. If you don’t, no task will ever appeal to you.

4. Get Out of “Kafka Mode”

When you feel like giving up, your ego gets in the way.

“I’m not doing a good job.”
“No one cares about what I write.”
“This just isn’t good enough.”

Every time I fall into the kind of rumination I mentioned earlier, I think of Kafka…

One of the most important writers in history. A writer I’ve always admired, who—paradoxically—never believed in the value of his own work. His self-criticism was so harsh that he burned his own manuscripts and felt ashamed of them.

You have to get out of what I call “Kafka mode.”

Remember, you don’t have the ultimate truth about what’s good or bad. It doesn’t matter if five people, fifty, or five hundred are waiting on your letter. Just write. Share it and let others judge your work. Feedback is what makes us better every day.

So keep going.

Keep going even on the gray days.
Keep going because this is the kind of person you want to be.
Keep going because tomorrow, when you look back, you’ll feel proud.

Even the greatest artists doubted the value of their work. Don’t forget that.

✍️ Your turn: What do you do to keep going on the hardest days? Do you remind yourself of something? Do you have a go-to activity?

💭 Quote of the day: “Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare.” — Angela Duckworth, Grit

See you soon. Sending a big hug and lots of encouragement! 👋

References 📚

1. Goleman, D. (2012). Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.

2. Perry, J. (2012). The Art of Procrastination: A Guide to Effective Dawdling, Lollygagging and Postponing.