On the Days You Feel Like Giving Up

Saying Yes to Persistence

I wrote this because I really needed it today, and I hope that it brings you peace when you need it, too.

I had a really crappy day yesterday for no particular reason… It was just one of those days when I felt sad, lost, and off track.

Actually, to say there's no reason would be a lie. It’s because of what happened the day before yesterday.

When I started seeing my therapist a few years ago, she told me what I had already known to be true: I was depressed. There were so many times I wanted to give up—on myself, my goals, and the hope that things could get better. I found myself in cycles of ups and downs, sometimes 3 weeks of agonizing despair, followed by a week of "picking myself up" and finding joy. She said that our goal wouldn't be to rid my life of hardship completely—that's impossible. But we would work to shorten those cycles of depression and lengthen those cycles of joy. We've certainly surpassed my expectations. My down days are rare now, and I have the tools to pull myself o…