Giving Up Isn’t Cowardice

Giving up isn't bad

“We try so hard to triumph over our weaknesses that there’s no time left for what we love.”

Lose, quit, move on and find what you’re meant to do – this wisdom gets often buried under all the pretentious advice the world throws at us.

Losing is merely an opportunity for reflection. A chance to listen to your heart. And once you’ve decided, you can change your path or walk on it again.

Losing doesn’t mean doom

We refuse to give up, even if it means succeeding at the wrong things because it becomes an ego issue over time.

Since we’ve already tried hard for so long, losing feels wrong. We’re afraid of losing as we were taught to glorify wins and despise losses.

So we do what we’ve been doing.

We continue without pausing and questioning ourselves – “Would I be better off if I let go?” Unfortunately, the answer is often yes, but we never get to listen to it as we never ask.

Why we fear giving up

We’re insecure, weak, and vulnerable – however, the hope about ‘winning someday’ keeps us going. But what hides beneath that hope is the helplessness we don’t wish to admit.  

Giving up can make all the uncertainties you fear happen. Your plans would fail, you’d become clueless about the future, and you wouldn’t know what else to do.

That’s scary.

And continuing seems safe.

But what don’t notice is that, maybe, giving up would bring all the freedom we’ve silently been wishing for.

Giving up frees us from our imaginary shackles, forces us to get rid of our excuses, and gives us another instance to rethink how we live. To do what we want to do, or should do.

Isn’t that a good thing? Definitely.

And honestly, we need to stop caring less

At the core of our doubts lie some fears: Will I be called loser if I give up? Am I quitting sooner than I should? Is it okay to put an end to the journey?

We tend to forget that we don’t work for winning or successes but rather for the sweetness of pursuit. For the joy of doing something we love. The moment we lose that, letting go seems right.

The winning part comes after that.

They didn’t teach us this

But should’ve.

Don’t pretend to be made of concrete. Stop acting strong when you’re not. Let go stuff when it stops making sense.

In the end, it’s not the world or people around you who deal with the consequences – you do. It’s fine to let some goals slip away and accept your ordinariness.

If you spend too much time proving yourself, achieving what you barely care about, and fall into the trap of keeping up appearances – you won’t have any time left for what you actually love.

Give up something.

Or win something.

You’re free, always.