The One Reason To Never Give Up (On Yourself, And On Others)

Because it’s so much more easier to stop, than to carry on.

Especially when the pain, frustration, loneliness, and confusion sets in.

It’s so much easier to give in, and just drift to wherever the times and the world takes you.

Far away from your dreams and desires.

What’s the one reason to never give up, on yourself, and on others?

 

A positive impact on someone’s life

I remember being tired and worn out during a full day of teaching back in Palawan, when I volunteered for the Jesuit Volunteers Philippines.

I was sent to a remote dormitory school, run by nuns (the FMA nuns), using a home study curriculum, with our own activities and schedule.

In that afternoon, I felt like nothing was going right.  I wanted to pack up, go home, and just quit.

I didn’t even want to teach the next day.  I just felt like giving up, going through the motions, and just wanted to focus on just getting by.

In life, there are times when we’re overwhelmed, and we just quit.

We quit giving our best because we’re frustrated and we feel hopeless.

We quit trying again because we’ve been hurt before and become afraid.

We quit showing up because we don’t see the importance of our contribution.

You’re still living, but inside, you’re already dying.

But that’s not how life is supposed to be lived.

The one reason to never give up, is you might make an impact on another’s life, or your own.

Making change possible, even if you don’t know it.

Making ripples into waves

Looking back, that year in Palawan was such a life-giving experience for me.  I was able to learn so much, and also, in a little way, be of help to students who needed a little bit of help.

Almost 10 years from that experience, and sometimes I wonder if I was really of help, and if I really made an impact on the loves of others, if even, just teaching for a year.

I’m not sure about the former, but I’m happy and thankful to find out where my past students are right now.

I hear stories of them becoming teachers themselves, having their own family, being professionals and making changes in the world, running businesses, providing jobs, and usually posting on Facebook what they’re up to.

I’ll never forget the moment when I heard my most mischievous student took up criminology because he wanted to become a policeman.  Talk about conversion.

Also, the tiny ripples that I received during that year ended up making a huge impact my life.

It eventually lead me to developing comfort teaching, then coaching and mentoring as well.  It forced me to find ways to learn a huge amount of information, process, and be ready to teach it in a simple and understandable way.

My partner in the institution, also gained a major life lesson here.  We were, in essence, homeschooling the students in our dormitory.  After that experience, my partner decided to homeschool the children she has now.

And I’ve never seen a bunch more creative, confident, intelligent, and open to learning about what’s going on in their world.

Lessons, and the impact arrives, when the time is right, and when you don’t give up.

 

Planting seeds.

Not everything we do has instant effects.

We’re all planting seeds – that will bear fruit in the future.

As long as we don’t give up.

 

How would your life change, if you didn’t give up, even in the smallest ways?  Let me know in the comments below!