How To Keep Going When The Going Gets Tougher

By Perminus Wainaina

Martin had spent over a decade working for the same company when he decided he needed a change. At the company, he had grown through the ranks but felt that he had reached the end of his ability to grow within the organization.

He decided to look for job opportunities while still working at the company.

Then the global pandemic hit and his position was declared redundant. A few days later, his father passed away, leaving the family with a huge medical bill to offset. He used almost all his savings and what was left of that, he decided to invest in a startup business with his friend.

With the reopening of the economy, his business seemed to be doing well. After close to six months, however, it became hard to sustain it and Martin was left looking for a job yet again.

His first time applying for jobs was not easy, but neither has been this time around. With many of his applications going unanswered, he is on the verge of giving up.

“They say tough times don’t last. But mine seems to be never-ending…” he mentioned.

Truth is, life is full of difficult situations. Whether you’re cutting back financially, trying to save a failing business, enduring a difficult job, or walking through a hard place, it’s easy to lose your motivation to keep moving forward.

We’ve all been in those situations where it’s hard to keep going, let alone to feel like we know how to do so.

Thankfully, although you might not see it, there is always hope. Nothing lasts forever—not even bad times—and practicing certain can shorten the difficult times.

If you could find a way to not only survive but thrive when the going gets tough, how would your life change for the better?

Here are things you can do to get going despite the tough times that you might be going through:

1. Realize How Far You Have Come

Whenever you get discouraged on the path to wherever you want to go, it is usually because you are only looking forward, not around you or behind you.

To keep going despite this, it’s important to take a moment or two to look around. Look at where you are standing now compared to when you first started. Look at how many obstacles and challenges are behind you that you managed to overcome.

Looking back at how far you have come is usually the push you need to keep on going into the future.

2. Find a Mentor

With the internet becoming more accessible than it has ever been, there are various ways to look into the world’s top minds and see what they do in their own lives when the going gets tough.

Most successful people have had to overcome some serious struggles to get to where they are. Do a simple search online, and you will no doubt find out about all of the challenges that many successful people have had to overcome.

Because of this, you should try to take inspiration from these people and find your mentors. It’s worth recognizing that nobody trying to live their best life can ever get through it without their fair share of challenges to overcome.

3. Take Smaller Steps

It is common for people to stumble in life because they are simply taking on too much at once. Whether it be too much ambition, unrealistic expectations of themselves or others, or some extra curveballs, big steps can sometimes be too much to take.

The truth about big steps is that they are rare, disruptive, and difficult to keep up without crumbling. The big steps—the real life-changing goals and dreams that you have—can often be broken into much smaller steps that are more manageable and that will get you to the same place.

If the going is getting particularly tough, it might be the case that you are simply trying to do too much at once. Try taking smaller, more manageable steps, and see if obstacles and difficulties become easier to navigate.

It’s easy to get frustrated when all we’re looking at is the light at the end of the tunnel. If you have been applying for numerous jobs, for example, not getting one when you thought you would, can lead to frustration. However, when you realize that every single step you take is a small step in the right direction, even when it’s dark and you can’t see your goal anymore, you’ll find the motivation to push through.

When you celebrate these small steps, you’ll have even more motivation.

In Conclusion,

When things get hard, we often forget that, somehow, our difficult situation will come to an end.

Keeping in mind the possibility of an end will help you walk into each day with hope. Even if that hope is disappointed time and time again, you will know that a solution may be just around the corner. Hope is always motivating because it gives you a reason to keep pressing forward.

Perminus Wainaina is the C.E.O and Managing Partner at Corporate Staffing Services, a leading HR consultancy firm based in Westlands. Through career mentorship programs, he assists mid-level and senior professionals get solutions to complex and challenging career issues that they are facing.