Why is it that the closer one gets to success, the easier it is to give up?

Sometimes, giving up can happen very suddenly.

When you first start something, you're highly motivated. You can keep going even when you encounter difficulties in the middle. But after a long time, the results are slow to appear, and then one day you suddenly don't want to continue.

It's not that anything particularly serious has happened. You just feel tired.

Then a thought starts to form in your mind: "Maybe I'm just not suited for this."

And suddenly, all the time, effort, and opportunities invested before seem to become unimportant.

This situation is especially prone to occurring with things that require long-term accumulation.

Learning a skill, running a business, building an account, developing a product—many results don't appear immediately in proportion to daily effort. You might do a lot of things for a long time without seeing significant changes.

But no obvious change does not mean no change at all.

What really needs to be judged is: Are there no results because the direction is wrong, or because the accumulation has not yet reached the point where results can be produced?

These two situations must be separated.

If the direction itself has clear problems, continuing to persevere is, of course, meaningless.

But if the direction has been verified and the methods are constantly improving, and it's just that short-term feedback is weak, then giving up completely simply because there are no results for a period of time might interrupt all previous accumulation.

Traditional Taoist practices include the concept of "holding fast" (持守).

"Holding fast" is not about stubbornly clinging on.

True holding fast means knowing why you persevere and continuously adjusting based on actual changes.

It's like planting; you don't dig up the seeds every day to see if they've sprouted. You need to water and observe the soil, and adjust according to the weather, but you wouldn't conclude that the seeds aren't growing just because you don't see changes for a few days.

So, when you really want to give up on something you've been doing for a long time, you can do a review.

Don't ask, "Should I continue?" First, write down the real changes that have happened over the past period.

Have you gained new abilities? Are you more skilled than before? Have you received any positive feedback? Are some indicators, however small, genuinely improving?

If these things are happening, but the final result has not yet appeared, then what might need adjustment is the pace, not an immediate end.

Conversely, if there has been no effective feedback for a long time, no improvement even after trying different methods, and realistic conditions have also changed, then stopping may not be a failure.

Sometimes, truly mature perseverance knows when to continue and when to change direction.

Don't force yourself to persevere forever just because you've already invested a lot.

And don't negate all your past efforts just because there are no results for now.

Perseverance and stubbornness are not the same thing; giving up and failing are not the same thing.

What's truly important is whether you can clearly see where you stand now.

If the direction is still correct, walk a bit further.

If the direction is no longer right, choose a different path.

And what needs to be avoided most is making a permanent decision for the future suddenly, when you are most fatigued and your judgment is at its lowest.

Give yourself a clear observation period, and make judgments based on facts, not on the emotions of a particular day.

The real turning point for many things doesn't tell you in advance, "Just a little more perseverance and you'll get there."

So, sometimes you think you've reached the end, but in reality, you just can't see the next step yet.

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