“Just keep going.”
A phrase that can, all too easily, get a bad rep — being at best overused (and therefore repetitive), and at worst downright frustrating.
Why are you telling me this?
If you’re going to speak, can’t you tell me something USEFUL? Something that might be productive — proactive, even?
The phrase itself provokes the question.
Why?
Why do we keep going?
Why don’t we just stop?
What’s the point?
Where are we going — and what are we aiming for?
Yes, the most important thing is not to stop — it has to be.
If you stop, there is (and can be) nothing else; things cannot be any different.
But there are things you can — and should — stop.
There are choices you can — and should — make.
Not for me.
Not because I say so.
But because you believe in it.
Things To Stop
A Checklist for the Uninitiated
1) Hating yourself.
It’s boring, painful, and self-perpetuating — a combination that doesn’t sound great when you put it on paper… and doesn’t fare much better in ‘real life’.
2) Hating the world.
The micro/macro argument rings true. How can you love yourself if you’re surrounded by negativity? You are not your environment, nor your experiences. You may be shaped by them but, ultimately, you have more freedom than you know: you can take what you have, and choose how you live.
3) Blaming yourself
Good rule of thumb: if it doesn’t make you better, don’t do it. If it doesn’t inspire you to change, to move forward, to make improvements, it’s not worth your time or energy. Substitute ‘it’ for people/situations where appropriate.
4) Blaming the world
For better or worse, things are rarely black and white.
The fifty shades of grey in between are what, pardon the pun (and my language!), really f*** us up — but they don’t need to.
Back to the good old rule of thumb: if it doesn’t help you, don’t do it.
Sure, blaming others/the world might make you feel better — but it’s an easy scapegoat. It doesn’t solve the problem.
It doesn’t actually make things better.
It just detracts from how bad things are.
But where do I, you, we stand on this?
We are all part of this world.
For better or worse, we cannot separate ourselves from it — and nor would we want to.
Where would we be without it?
To change the answer, we must first address the question: what can we do to change it?
That’s us: you, me, we — individually and collectively.
What can we commit ourselves to?
What do we believe in?
I’m an idealist and a pragmatist and I believe in humanity.
I believe that we can do less than we want to but more than we think.
I believe that the most important thing is not to stop.
Learning.
Growing.
Changing.
Failing.
Getting up again.