Don't Quit

Every now and then I like to read quotes and poems that inspire me. These especially come in handy when life really seems to be weighing me down and I feel less than capable. The last time I was having a really rough patch the "Don't Quit" poem really helped me to push through.

 I've always had a hard time keeping jobs due to my mental illness. I would get paranoid, depressed, anxious, or manic and would not be able to handle the pressures of my job or be able to be around the people that I worked with. I don't think I can honestly tell you how many jobs I have had in the past 5 years. When I accepted my latest job I thought I had it all worked out. It was six months into DBT and I thought I could hold down this part time job no problem. Nothing was going to get in my way! I was a new woman! Then life slapped me in the face. Yes, I was ready to work but unfortunately I had picked a job with a terrible manager. I held on for as long as I could and then eventually quit. I knew I had done everything I could to salvage the job (which was a huge improvement from impulsively walking out), but I couldn't help but feel like I had failed. I verbally abused myself and my confidence came crashing down. All that work from DBT seemed so minuscule now. "How could I have thought things would ever be different..." I wanted to throw in the towel and just accept what I had believed was reality. This quote was exactly what I needed at that time. I have to give myself a pat on the back and say I am a pretty resilient individual. I may fall flat on my face, but I always pull myself up no matter how slow it may be. Things have (six months later) and will go wrong since then, but I won't quit.

Don't Quit

Author Unknown

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,

When 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 strange with its twists and turns

As every one of us sometimes learns.

And many a failure 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.

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 so far:

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit

It’s when things seem worse that you MUST NOT QUIT!