Don’t Quit
“Your circumstances may be uncongenial, but they shall not remain so if you only perceive an ideal and strive to reach it. You cannot travel within and stand still without.” — As A Man Thinketh
For many years I have carried around a poem called Don’t Quit. One of the lines says, “stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit - It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.” In our darkest hour it’s hard to see the end of our circumstance. All we can think of is our conditions worsening. But it’s usually at this time that our greatest growth can occur if we’ll see the moment as a growth opportunity. If we’ll see it as a time to learn how to control our thoughts toward an ideal that we cherish.
One thing I share with people who seek my advice when they think their life has come apart, is to help them understand the power that even the tiniest of actions can have when taken in a negative situation. Remember in Science class when we learned that “a body at rest tends to remain at rest or a body in motion tends to remain in motion.” This is especially true when overcoming circumstances because “paralysis” usually keeps us in the condition longer than we’d like.
But even more important, is that once we’ve started in motion, even though it may not seem like much, know this - it’s now only a matter of time before you’re out, totally out, of the situation that has got you down today.
My long-time favorite poem by an anonymous author is worth remembering today:
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill.
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns.
And many a fellow turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man.
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup.
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.
And that’s worth thinking about.
Stumble it!
Del.icio.us
October 10th, 2006 at 12:53 am
Hi Vic,
This poem has been a HUGE inspiration to me for many years.
So many times over the years I wanted to quit and these words always came back to me.
Today, as we celebrate SuccessNet.org’s 10-Year Anniversary Sale I am very grateful that I didn’t quit—and apparently so are tens of thousands of our members and subscribers.
If I had quit, I wouldn’t have the success I have today and would not have people like you in my life.
Thanks for the reminder, Vic.
You always give me something to think about.
October 10th, 2006 at 7:33 am
Your timeliness is perfect, as usual. We just had a talk about this poem in our MasterMind group and, just like that, we’ve attracted it into our inboxes. It seems both the universe AND Vic Johnson move in mysterious ways
October 12th, 2006 at 9:57 pm
I have the picture version on the wall: An Egret or Stork has a frog in it’s mouth. However the frog has his hands around the bird’s throat. A stalemate until the bird can’t breath & will drop the frog. Maybe!!!!
Or>>> When does one stop banging one’s head against the wall?
October 14th, 2006 at 12:02 pm
Outstanding Post Vic. I learned the phrase “Stick and Stay and you’ll get your Pay” several years ago. I didn’t truly get the meaning until a few years later nor did I understand how much deeper you can go beyond the fraze. We all hear about the person winning the lottery however 85% of them end up in 5 years dead or dead broke. They got the million dollars but they didn’t become the millionaire. They didn’t go through the natural progression and stick to their vision and “BECOME the person who would not only attract the money but learn the skills to create more money and allow the energy of money to flow through them. It’s a process that so few people are willing to pay and learn however I enjoy helping spread the word.
January 25th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Vic,
Thanks alot for publishing this as, I too, have been through “rough waters” in my life and ministry. I’m still learning that, “With Christ in the Ship, We Can ‘Smile’ at the Storm.”
God richly bless you,
Pastor Tim
March 1st, 2007 at 2:24 pm
I just wanted to share some things about the poem Don’t Quit. I have personally met the author of this poem, Alice Rowland of Alberta Canada, who wrote it in 1948. She even shared the original copy with me. The story of why it was written, and how it came to be spread across the world as “author unknown” is quite amazing. It is a wonderful poem that has been very inspirational to me and countless many others. The Author Unknown version actually omits the last verse, which is as follows.
“For we know the Father above looks down
He sees our struggles and holds the crown.
He knows the way though its rough and drear,
He will give strength so we need not fear.
He offers to you the refreshing cup
Of the water of life: then in faith look up.
Continue on ’til the crown is won
Which He will give when our work is done.”
Alice Rowland
August 11th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
What a wonderful inclusion of a divine thought of the Crown we will receive when indeed our work is done. I had never heard of this before and thought to send you a positive thought of expression of just how meaningful this was to me. God Bless
November 23rd, 2007 at 11:21 am
Thank you so much Vic and also to Kyla for giving us the full version of the Poem ‘Dont Quit’, that last line just Blessed me and enabled me to see the complete picture.
Vic, your website is truly motivational. Keep up the good work.
Georgy
February 14th, 2008 at 11:45 am
This Poem is right on and exactly what I needed today
March 21st, 2008 at 1:39 pm
This poem Don’t Quit has indeed been around for a long time. I’ve been reading it since I was a child. The original author is Richard J. Cushing, Archbishop of Boston, 1957.
I hand it out as a bookmark to participants in my Life Skills workshops.
Regards,
Jane