Don't Quit

I was feeling seriously discouraged yesterday. I was cleaning out a closet, purging a bunch of stuff, among them items related to failed career attempts. Some of this was from ten years ago, and I am sure no one cares, or remembers, but me, but I still felt like a failure. Then, I got a present-day career disappointment. All of which left me feeling, why bother?

Then I walked into my hallway, where I have this poem hanging. I first discovered this poem when I was a sophomore in high school. I typed it up (on a typewriter!) and made a frame for it and hung it in my bedroom. It helped keep me going through some very bad days. A few years later, I came across a framed print of it at a craft show. I bought it and it has been hanging in my home ever since. Most of the time, I hardly pay attention to it, but every now and then, it is just what I need.

I can't say that it totally brightened my mood. I still feel pretty discouraged, but it serves as a good reminder to keep going, even when all seems hopeless.

Don't Quit

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 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.

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 slipped 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 so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

- Author unknown