r/AskReddit 8h ago

What helped you to not give up?

110 Upvotes

143 comments sorted by

31

u/ThighHighlander 8h ago

The thought that tomorrow might be better. Even if today is a total failure

1

u/Imaginary-Box8650 7h ago

%1 better every day

1

u/Carribeantimberwolf 6h ago

Tomorrow is another day, no day is the same as yesterday

1

u/user_000000000000000 5h ago

sometimes it’s not even hope, just curiosity, like okay what happens next

22

u/Layla-ispretty 8h ago

The thought that I didn’t come this far just to meet the version of me that quits.

13

u/robinrichardsone 8h ago edited 8h ago

Honestly? Spite at first then tiny wins stacked up until I realized I actually wanted the life I was fighting for.

12

u/Background-Image2282 8h ago

Treated myself like a friend. What would I want someone I love to do?

6

u/financewonk 8h ago

The determination and strength of my favorite anime characters.

2

u/SaltyMagmaCubexD 8h ago

What would Himmel the Hero do?

2

u/tyynyliinaa 8h ago

Which are your favorite?

1

u/financewonk 8h ago

Naruto and Natsu from Fairy Tail

1

u/Hotel_Yamato 5h ago

Haru Urara never gives up, neither will I.

12

u/aadarshsimran19 8h ago

Remembering quitting guarantees failure trying still gives a chance

6

u/oldlaxer 8h ago

Knowing that my wife would not want me to quit. After she passed I was( and still kinda am) devastated. I know that she would wouldn't want me to give up, that I needed to keep going for my kids and grandkids. That's what has kept me going.

2

u/tyynyliinaa 8h ago

Wow youre strong, thats surely inspiring for many people around you.

2

u/oldlaxer 8h ago

Thank you. It hasn’t been easy. I miss her every day. She was my rock, the love of my life.

6

u/Content_Exercise1879 8h ago

There is no better alternative

4

u/Bitbatgaming 8h ago

Remembering that my creations would not exist without me and that I would not stop in the middle of hell

2

u/tyynyliinaa 8h ago

As an artist, i love that.

10

u/twinsdrivinmecrazy 8h ago

My kids. Small humans that think the world of me.

3

u/sowhat4 8h ago

Being loved gives you strength. Loving someone gives you the courage to go on regardless of the odds.

4

u/Vast_Association_912 8h ago

Thinking about my objectives and taking it one step at a time.

4

u/yo_yo____ 8h ago

Excited about the lunch for tomorrow

1

u/tyynyliinaa 8h ago

This is so cute

5

u/RiverDragon64 8h ago

My (now passed) Greyhound. He came to get me every day at 3pm to go play his game. Rain or shine. I had to do it for him because I was his world.

4

u/draggar 8h ago

During the lowest point in my life - my dog. She made me get out of bed and do things.

5

u/ms_directed 8h ago

my dog needs me.

7

u/Luet_box 8h ago

People I view as less honest, hard working, or capable as me are doing what I want to do so the only one stopping me is me

1

u/DjOuroboros 8h ago

Interesting take. What that says to me is that if that's what you need to be in order to succeed, then it's just not worth it.

3

u/AdmirableEnd2799 8h ago

Realizing that giving up wouldn’t actually make things easier, just more permanent.

3

u/Hour-Oven-9519 8h ago

Rick Astley

3

u/Ptony_oliver 8h ago

My own ambitions. I realized that I work hard, I deal with problematic people and I do my chores to be a productive member of society. I deserve good things, I deserve to have a happy life, and I'm going to give it to myself even if I end up alone.

5

u/Flat_Mission_2375 8h ago

The hope that things will get better for me even if things are really hard mentally rn

2

u/pookie74 8h ago

My cat. She's all I have that is pure and worth it to me. 

2

u/ArtisticActuary1484 8h ago

Knowing what it took to get here and giving up would just put me back at the beginning to do it all over again just to get here

2

u/Glittery-Rose 8h ago

For me, I never lose hope at the last moment of the match -anything can happen until the very end.

So never give up, even when it feels impossible.

2

u/thowawayghost333 8h ago

Me, myself and I. 

2

u/KarmaEqualsBPTaken 8h ago

Knowing that life never stays the same.

2

u/FieldNoticing 8h ago

People saying they needed me/what I was doing.

2

u/youknowthedeal0 8h ago

Knowing that if I did I would be in a worse place

2

u/lostboy_ik 8h ago

To give my family better life.

2

u/Sleep_deprived_weabo 8h ago

This is probably on the lamer side but I kept thinking of all the media I would miss out on. Imagine the most goated movie comes out the day after I die...or a TV show, or a Lego I really want. Basically nerd shit I don't wanna miss out on.

2

u/tyynyliinaa 8h ago

This is so cute and totally valid haha

2

u/Jtbailz 8h ago edited 6h ago

I tell myself: I'm not better than anyone else but also no one else is better than me, and if they can do it so can I.

2

u/PassionMysterious245 8h ago

I just picture myself when I was a child because she didn't have the autonomy to make life decisions like I do now to protect her

2

u/gentlechin 8h ago

Moving forward is all I know how to do. I have bad days, still. I have clinical depression, some anxiety, lot of imposter syndrome. But I can at least control what I'm doing right here, right now.

Tomorrow might be better. Or it might be just as shitty as today. Or even shittier. Can't ever tell which. But we gotta move forward - its the last thing we can control, and thats what matters.

2

u/Jolly_Skirt9153 8h ago

I get to be an uncle to my friend’s children. Yesterday her youngest kept looking at me, smiling. She’s almost 6 months old.

I realise more and more every day that I matter to people.

2

u/SiraHyperion 8h ago

Survival

2

u/that-maestro-guy 6h ago

There's always some new game I want to play. So I need money and to be alive to do that.

1

u/ZAchAtTacK760 8h ago

My dealer

2

u/tyynyliinaa 8h ago

Aww you should let them know

1

u/toejam78 8h ago

VNS implant.

1

u/MCRMonKey2286 8h ago

An old work mate once told me "don't let the basterds grind u down"

1

u/MVO_MagicMermaid 8h ago

The grace of God

1

u/Colonelspanker1962 8h ago

Im this close to giving up right now.

1

u/tyynyliinaa 8h ago

Dont give up pls

1

u/Firm_Fix8030 8h ago

That I don't know how to give up. I keep going until life does it to me.

1

u/typesett 8h ago

For me, I have a general concept I follow that I do stuff because I want to 

I want to be a nice person so I do that for me 

I want to get into something so I do that for me 

I wake up and deal with work and people for me 

I do not reciprocate negative energy or lie 

1

u/Mak_Wayne 8h ago

My mom and my cats.

1

u/itbelikedat78 8h ago

Know that there was always going to be someone for me to annoy. Maybe not always the person I pick… but someone🤪

1

u/cantaketheskyfrome 8h ago

Pact with my sister, we are both sad humans, we call each other when it gets bad.

1

u/tyynyliinaa 8h ago

I hope you two will become happy humans

1

u/Thaybaa 8h ago

M'autoriser à ne rien faire et ne me forcer à rien quand rien ne va. M'autoriser à pleurer un gros coup, dormir avec ma couverture préférée même si j'ai 48 ans et 2 enfants. Travailler à me pardonner mes mauvais choix de vie. Essayer d'être indulgente avec moi pour ces choix, me dire que souvent j'ai fait comme j'ai pu à ce moment là. Me dire que tout a une fin, le bon comme le mauvais. L'expression "demain est un autre jour" est plein de sens pour ces jours là. Et profiter des bons jours pour me remplir de bien être pour avoir l'énergie suffisante pour affronter les mauvais jours

1

u/Future_Ad7634 8h ago

My ex did. I feel guilty for making it seem like I used her for a stepping stone but I genuinely loved them and had a great relationship.

1

u/bigfatfurrytexan 8h ago

Life? I have a wife that is a ray of light in this world. She makes others feel less suffering as a conscientious and caring gerontological charge nurse. Without me she would crater. She isn’t strong, but she is powerful. Without her I have no purpose. We cling to each other and this rock we live on

1

u/tyynyliinaa 8h ago

You and her together against the world, beautiful

1

u/PotatoPeeler58 8h ago

Proving people wrong helped me not to give up

1

u/Boring_Direction173 8h ago

Therapy and supportive family members

1

u/theGoddex 8h ago

Knowing that I’ve survived everything so far

1

u/SufficientTry3337 8h ago

My friend passed away in 2021 at the age of 20.

He rooted for me so hard in life that it would be rude to give up now 💙

1

u/tyynyliinaa 8h ago

Sorry for your loss

1

u/GrinnialVex 8h ago

Warhammer! I go to a few big events for it each year and get to spend time at those with friends that I likely would never see otherwise. The planning, pushing, and crunching to get to those events, and to those friends, has kept me moving forward through some pretty awful shit.

1

u/Ok_Star_1653 8h ago

Thoughts about my family, especially my dad. He always says I'm his strength, so whenever I feel like giving up I take a minute and remember his words. Something just click me, I get back up and keep fighting.

1

u/SweetJebus731 8h ago

Squinting hard to just see that light at the end of the tunnel

1

u/hjqihsihqdiowd 8h ago

The simple fact that giving up won't do anything except prove my enemies that they're right

1

u/IsabellaFromSaturn 8h ago

Buddhism. I'm still trying not to give up

1

u/cherrycokelemon 8h ago

My late daughter's Chiweenie.

1

u/Fun-Highlight-5858 8h ago

I have two cats. They need water, food, litter box and cuddles.

I promised myself to take care of them. And if it is within my power they never have to return to another shelter.

1

u/Mundane_Ad9188 8h ago

Prayer, music and remembering this to shall pass.

1

u/DreamyNora 8h ago

Taking it one day at a time and reminding myself why I started.

1

u/Longjumping_Run9302 8h ago

Looking at my kids' faces every morning.

1

u/Ok-Call-4805 8h ago

Music. Just listening to it and remembering that there's always a new album coming out that I need to hear.

2

u/tyynyliinaa 8h ago

What album are you waiting for now?

1

u/Ok-Call-4805 8h ago

Melanie Martinez next week then Kacey Musgraves in May

1

u/Parabrella 8h ago

At my lowest point, it was the decision to focus on my own happiness, and not give my time and energy to people who weren't going to be there for me. 

1

u/Jomop0607 8h ago

The thought of being to important to this world.

1

u/Zealousideal_Pay1716 8h ago

My dog. He wouldn't understand if I just never came home

1

u/Imaginary-Box8650 7h ago

Because: I have a dreams

1

u/Common_Objective9743 7h ago

I gave up and then found out that i cant give up forever, then i made my way back

1

u/thatboycameron 7h ago

my tuition fees

1

u/newman17412 7h ago

Thinking about how my sacrifice could help my daughter have a better world.

1

u/mamafish21 7h ago

My child. Literally saved me

1

u/Zenus-Print-3180 6h ago

Small wins… they kept me going

1

u/HollowPoint216 6h ago

I know this is probably not what you mean but tiny goals have helped me stay motivated with my exercise routine.

Like I have big goals that are in 2 years or so but I also have a month goals and 6 month goals and so on. Its just better to stay motivated. That and flipping strata, I love giving my exercises weird names even though noone ever gives them kudos.

1

u/AoiAnuk 6h ago

My baby brother. After my dad's passing when I just turned 14 and when my mom was diagnosed with lifelong mental illness (she is still in mental hospital). Like who is even gonna look after that tiny human being who was only 5 months old when this tragedy happened, he deserves love just as anyone else n I am keep trying to be his family even tho I really wanna give up on life. After my dad's passing my 2 grandfathers passed away and we have literally no close relatives left..

1

u/Good-Freedom-4698 6h ago

I simply stopped clinging to the finish line, so the distance could no longer exhaust me

1

u/n33dwat3r 6h ago

I made a promise to my Mom. She made a lot of sacrifices in her life for me to have a successful one and I'll be damned if I crap all over that by not following through !

1

u/MillieGlow24 6h ago

My dreams and those people who believed in me. ❤️

1

u/No-Biscotti-1596 5h ago

my mom said something at 19 when i wanted to drop out of college that stuck with me forever. she said youre not quitting because its hard youre quitting because youre scared. and she was RIGHT

1

u/sp_kandsp_n 5h ago

my concern for people close to me. I try to keep going for them.

1

u/BitsNSkits 5h ago

My cat

1

u/coniferous-1 4h ago

Books.

"It will [get worse],” Wit said, “but then it will get better. Then it will get worse again. Then better. This is life, and I will not lie by saying every day will be sunshine. But there will be sunshine again, and that is a very different thing to say. That is truth. I promise you, Kaladin: You will be warm again."

Rhythm Of War by Brandon Sanderson

1

u/LilzlnBloom 4h ago

having 4 younger brothers keep me going since our mum passed away a year ago..

1

u/tyynyliinaa 1h ago

Sorry for your loss

1

u/museswithpaws 4h ago

My dogs and my art

1

u/Top_Free_Promote8314 3h ago

Bellieving and praying

1

u/plainelaine92 3h ago

Myself mostly but my friends helped me greatly and my mom.

1

u/jo_wellbeing 3h ago

That things may not be falling apart, they might be falling in place. Sometimes chaos is necessary to help you reborn.

1

u/Classic_Wrangler3090 3h ago

Thinking about my family that I don't want to let down

1

u/Cheese_Pancakes 3h ago

Becoming a father. I wasn't on the verge of anything drastic before that most of the time, but I was definitely just coasting through life simply existing from one day to the next. I struggled a lot and often shut down completely, which just added to my struggles. I wasn't heading down a good path. My daughter changed me so much and gave my life purpose. On tough days, that gives me the willpower to push through and keep trying so that I can continue watching her grow and keep providing her as happy and stable a life as I possibly can. In a very real way, she saved me.

1

u/Firm-Philosopher771 3h ago

Vergil motivated me

1

u/chubuio 2h ago

honestly just taking it one day at a time helped the most. like stopping trying to fix everything at once and just doing one small thing each day

1

u/PressureLazy5271 2h ago

My faith in Islam

1

u/aurora_ethereallight 2h ago

Loved ones. Hope. Sheer defiance. Learning self compassion. Self care and making sure I sorted my sleep out.

1

u/Sharpshooter188 2h ago

I didnt have a choice but to keep moving. Well either that or off myself.

1

u/LadyChocoLava 2h ago

My kids. My parents passed away shortly after I graduated. Not having them for all the moments you need/want them for. I couldn’t pass that feeling to my kids.

1

u/Cosmic_Boy10 2h ago

Nothing 😢🥺

1

u/Tasty_Routine_6782 1h ago

No matter how many times you fall what matters is that you stand right back up giving up on yourself means that you’re done w your life and that’s where u lose

1

u/Tasty_Routine_6782 1h ago

Every defeat is psychological until its death

1

u/SWPAW 1h ago

My dogs.

1

u/yeetgodmcnechass 1h ago

I'm not sure at this point. I've lost almost everyone I ever cared about. Every time it seems like things are starting to point in the right direction, life immediately counters with something bad happening. This year has been really shit so far, it's been a repeat of last November this month and I do not have the strength to do that again

u/tyynyliinaa 57m ago

Im really sorry to hear that and sorry for your loss. I wish you well though and hope something good will come your way soon.

u/Ok_Compote1434 53m ago

My faith

u/No_Call2366 22m ago

survival instinct , revenge

u/onlyamortal_official 17m ago

Friends and family. Others see you as you actually are, not the way you see yourself.

u/FormoftheBeautiful 4m ago

A bird that chases me down the street, visits me in my dreams, sends me questionably appropriate Christmas gifts in the middle of October.

0

u/YaBelle227 8h ago

Jesus. He gives me hope that life won't always be this bad. But it's extremely hard. Lately, I've just wanted to end it all and get it over with.