Keeping Going Is Part Of The Greatness Of The Human Mind

Keeping going is not a choice. It is a duty. We’ve all experienced it. We have all been stuck at a crucial moment in life. And when this happens, our entire universe is distorted. We look silly and out of tune, stranded in a strange, suffocating dimension. And we all know very well that anything that doesn’t move or cling to something eventually perishes. It’s like standing water. Everything starts to go wrong.

We all go through difficult and unfavorable times. But in those moments, there is a part of our brain that encourages us to keep going. It is the voice of the logic. Moreover, it corresponds to what the people who love us tell us. Because they worry about us. They try to support us with words of encouragement. But another part of our brain resists change. It is also completely attached to the painful events that have robbed us of our peace. This part of the brain also tries to take away our sense of security that we enjoyed not so long ago.

Letting go

Letting go of something or someone, giving up things that defined our identity, such as a job or a friendship, puts our entire being into a state of alarm. Then follows a complicated situation. It is a situation that we must deal with appropriately, accurately and wisely.

We want to get as far away as possible from all those negative emotions that pile up and hold us in their grip. And yet it is actually very beneficial to confront that emotional knot. For it will help you to understand and unravel it. After all, there is a complex set of circumstances that, when we get them under control and decipher them, give us the impetus to keep going.

Sometimes we underestimate the wonderful resilience and self-improvement that each of us possesses within ourselves, right in our hearts. It is indeed an indestructible diamond in the rough that can light our ways. To further clarify this idea, we think it is worth telling a little story. It will no doubt make us think. We will also come to more than one conclusion.

The history of a message, lost in an old bookshop

We have all seen the famous poster with the phrase “Keep Calm and Carry On”. Keeping calm and moving forward is probably one of the best-selling messages in the field of personal growth. But the origin of this message is actually rather strange. To discover this we have to travel to the Second World War and to London in 1940.

The government knew the situation in the UK couldn’t be more complicated. The war had reached its worst point. The bombs of the German army regularly hit the major cities. They needed a means of defense. This did not only apply to the military side of things. They also had to boost the morale of the population. Because they had to feel that typically British imperturbability again. That way they would not lose heart in such dire circumstances.

So the reason was that the government wanted to encourage people to keep going. That’s why they designed posters that were hung on the street. They received several proposals such as “Your courage, your cheerfulness, your determination will bring us victory” and “Keep calm and carry on”. The government chose the last sentence. That sentence became the articulation of what the British needed. Over two million copies were printed. A large percentage of the budget has been used for this project.

Getting strength from adversity

Now the question is, did those eye-catching and well-intentioned posters help? The answer is simple. The posters weren’t even necessary. The posters were never distributed in the streets. Winston Churchill decided they were not suitable. He thought the British didn’t need patronizing messages. The people already knew very well that continuing was the only possible choice. Fight and trust. Human beings already possess their own mechanisms for drawing strength from adversity and resisting. Keeping going is an innate part of us.

Placing these messages in the streets was nothing more than a joke. For that reason, the government has hidden and destroyed most of it. They didn’t want anyone to discover that they had invested a significant sum of money in something that simply wasn’t necessary.

It was only in 2000 that some of these posters were accidentally found in an old bookshop. The find was very surprising. So it didn’t take long for a statement designed several decades earlier to take hold and become incredibly popular.

We do know that deep down human beings are made of an indestructible material. We know it’s in our genes to resist and persevere. But what can we do when we have lost our enthusiasm? How can we react when our hands are tied? What can we do when our hearts are cold and our minds are dominated by negative thoughts?

Keys to keep going without losing heart

• Feel your emotions. We already pointed this out at the beginning. We must be able to understand our emotional maze. We need to be aware of negative emotions. We have to internalize them and channel them so that little by little they lose their intensity.
• What do you earn? Think about this. Go deeper into that question. Make a list of what you earn. You deserve to be happy, have a new chance and have more freedom. Plus, you deserve to take responsibility for yourself. You deserve to love and be loved, to achieve success and to have hope again.
• Watch your feet touch the ground. It may seem silly. But something as simple as feeling our feet touch the ground gives us a sense of security and mobility. We are not glued to the ground. We, on the other hand, possess the ability to move forward and act.

• Practice diaphragmatic breathing and meditation. It is fundamental that we connect with ourselves and with everything that surrounds us. These activities help us to focus, direct emotions, clear our minds and become more aware of other perspectives.
• Gather a group of resilient people around you. Among your friends and in your family there are people who have gone through terrible times. They undoubtedly had to fight to get out. You can learn from them.
• Create a mantra. Design a phrase that you use in your daily life as encouragement and motivation. Here are some examples: “I deserve”, “I am brave”, “Wonderful things are waiting for me, I am ready to go for it”.

Finally, there is the most important step: seize the decisive moment. To continue is to take the plunge with confidence, with confidence in ourselves and in our own resources. This is something we can all do to achieve a reality that is more fulfilled and more fulfilling. It is that reality that we deserve.