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Keep Going: Don't Let Life Grind You
- elby
- Oct 13, 2024
- 4 min read
Life can be brutal. It doesn't matter who you are, how much money you have, or what privileges you were born with. At some point, life will slam you into the ground and keep you there if you let it.
No matter how hard it gets or how heavy the weight feels, you keep going.
You wake up some days, and the world feels like it's pressing down on you. Maybe you can't even figure out why, but it's there—an invisible force trying to bury you alive. That's when you stand up. Maybe you can't run today. Maybe you can't even walk. But get up. Get out of bed. Because staying down is a choice, and it's the one choice that guarantees you'll stay stuck right where you are.
There are two types of people in this world: the ones who quit and those who don't. Life doesn't care about your excuses, justifications, or circumstances. It doesn't care that you had a tough childhood, that you've been dealt a bad hand, or that you're going through unimaginable pain right now. Life is indifferent to all that, and it will keep throwing punches.
The question is: will you let it knock you out, or will you rise and fight?
"The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." – Marcus Aurelius
One Step is Enough
It's not about winning every battle every day. Sometimes, it's about simply taking one step. Just one. That one step is enough. You can't see a way forward when life has you pinned to the ground. It doesn't matter how small it is. It's forward motion, and that's all that counts. Can't get out of bed? Get up. Can't manage to deal with the full day ahead? Handle the next five minutes. Can't finish the workout? Do one more rep. That's how you move mountains: one small rock at a time.
This isn't some motivational fluff about "positive thinking" or waiting for the stars to align. This is real, gritty, life-or-death determination. Life isn't waiting for you to feel good about it. You push through the pain, through the discomfort, through the chaos. Why? Because you have to. The alternative is standing still, and that's as good as being dead. Progress doesn't have to be pretty. It just has to happen.
It's Hard? So What?
You think it's hard? Good. It's supposed to be hard. That's where the growth happens. Struggle isn't a sign that you're failing—it's the proof you're fighting. You're clawing out of the hole, scraping at the sides with everything you've got. Every inch forward is earned. And guess what? That's what makes it valuable.
Anyone can sit down when life gets tough. Most people do. They give up, complain, blame the world, their parents, the government, whatever. But not you. You're different. You're the one who keeps going when there's no finish line in sight. You don't need someone else to hold your hand and tell you it will be okay. You get up and keep going because that's what strong people do.
The truth is, nobody's coming to save you. Nobody will knock on your door, hand you the perfect life, and make all your problems disappear. This is your fight, and you have to own it. Yes, it's hard. Yes, it's unfair. And yes, you're probably exhausted. But the only way out is through. So, grit your teeth, square your shoulders, and keep pushing.
Small Wins Add Up
You don't need to conquer the world today. Focus on the small wins. Make the bed. Get dressed. Drink a glass of water. Take that one step forward. When you string those small victories together, they create momentum. That momentum builds into something bigger. Before you know it, you've covered miles. But you never get there if you don't start. You don't move if you're waiting for the perfect conditions or motivation to strike.
Motivation is overrated. It's not about waiting for the right feeling to sweep you off your feet. It's about discipline. You do the work whether you feel like it or not. You show up for yourself, day in and day out, whether it's raining, tired, or broken. You keep going because you don't have any other option. The alternative? You sit in the mud, watching the world move past you, wishing things were different. But wishing doesn't change a damn thing. Action does.
You Are Stronger Than You Know
Do you think you need to be stronger? That's a lie. The fact that you're still breathing means you're stronger than most people out there. Every scar, every battle wound, every sleepless night has only made you more resilient. You've survived 100% of your worst days so far, and guess what? That means you've got the strength to survive whatever comes next. You don't even know how powerful you are yet. But you will. The more you push through the hard stuff, the more you realise your capabilities. And it's a lot more than you ever imagined.
"If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment." – Marcus Aurelius
Keep Going
So, when life knocks you down—and it will—you don't stay there. You don't make excuses. You don't cry about how unfair it is. You stand up. Maybe not perfectly or with all your strength, but you rise anyway. You rise because quitting isn't an option. You rise because you have a future for which to fight. You rise because there's more to your story than this moment.
It doesn't matter how slow the progress feels. It doesn't matter how far you have to go. What matters is that you keep going. One step, one breath, one battle at a time. You don't stop. You don't quit. You keep going until the fight is done. And believe me, when you finally look back at everything you've endured, you'll realise that every step forward was worth it. Keep going. You've got this.
