Why should you never give up?

“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” – Henry Ford

When life throws hurdles at you, it is of utmost importance to face them and work your way out of it. The essence of life is lost when you do not want to confront challenges, as it’s about the entire journey and not only the destination. When you are in deep trouble, or you don’t see how you can sustain what you always wanted to do and do not find a way out, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Give up. Whether it is about following your passion or getting out of a sticky situation, giving up seem more easier that taking a stance and bracing the storm. Your mind remains in a state of trance, with a disturbed aura paralyzing all your decision making abilities.

Success requires time. You may be putting in effort night and day into something, and may fail to see results. It doesn’t mean that it is never going to work out. It just needs more time and a tweak in your approach. Stop, take a moment to take note and check if you are doing something wrong.

Being POSITIVE is the key. It is of great importance to attack your goals with a positive frame of mind. As per psychologists, the influence of what we strongly hold in mind is so important to our career. First, we have to make sure that our goal is achievable and practical then just go for it no matter how difficult it is and we will never lose our passion.

‘A Heavy Metal Memoir’ – is an auto-biography by Dave Mustaine, a leading metal guitarist and front-man of world famous Thrash Metal legends, Megadeth. In his book, Dave speaks about all the hurdles and even near death experiences he has faced to get to what he is today. To never give up, was coded into his genes. Dave speaks about how he lost all the functionality and feeling of his arm, and how he never gave up to get back what he had lost – “On January 7th, 2002, while at the hospital, I sat on a chair which I hung my arm over the back of. The hard edge along the top of the seat back cut off the circulation to my radial ulnar nerve. After approximately two hours I woke up and my left hand was numb. I went to the nurse’s station and they said it was the hair-tie I had on my wrist. I wish. I had to go into town to see a specialist and he said that I would be lucky if I ever gained even 80% of the use of my arm again”.

Dave adds, “this was unacceptable for me, so I left the rehab, against medical advice and went home to Scottsdale, to get my arm checked out by a city doctor. My Dr. Raj Singh, an expert in nerve damage, spinal damage, etc. said that I may get 100% use of my arm, but that I would never play the same. He then prescribed some intricate braces. I then proceeded to Nathan Koch for physical therapy for 4 months of sessions, three times a week, 1-1.5 hours a day. After I finally got my feeling back in my hand, I realized that I could not even hold a feather in that hand and started a grueling 1-year weight-training program. 13 months after I hurt myself, a personal assistant that had worked for me died in hospice of drug damage, and I was asked to play. It was the first time I had held a guitar after a really long time.” Today, Dave Mustaine is one of the leading metal guitarists and front-men of all time.

Pic – Dave Mustaine

I have had instances myself where perseverance has worked wonders. Being a professional musician, I had learnt first-hand that it’s a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll. When I started out with my current band around five years ago, I had some nightmarish experiences in some of my early shows. Booed off, total sound mess- up at the sound console, multiple mistakes and what not. At a point the entire band was shattered with no guidance to what’s next. It could have been very easy to give up what we loved to do and carried on with our mundane lives. But we never gave up. We used our past experiences to correct our mistakes and work on our strengths and weaknesses, working back right from the basics. Today my band Buffer Zone, stands testimony to hard work. We are an award-winning Progressive Metal band, known for our unique sound. We have never looked back since and have taken things to the next level. What started out as a small time corporate band, is now our brainchild to live every rock-star’s dream J

Pic – Myself

So where do most people go wrong? Efforts put over years are bound to materialize in time. But patience and perseverance is key to most successes, which most lack. Of course, there is no replacement for hard work, which needs to be combined with the right attitude that can make wonders. Successes are just right the corner, you just have to push that extra mile when you feel all is lost. In the long term, hope is our belief and it can make us be very strong when we face great difficulties and even when we want to quit. Some people failed simply because they lost their sight of their “coast” although they are very qualified and capable.

I have come across a lot of real life heroes who have been strengthened by bad experiences, just by the fact that they put in sustained efforts towards their goals, irrespective of the situation. Success doesn’t come easy. If you feel a hurdle is too much for you to handle, always know that the hurdle exists in your life to only make you stronger. If I can be successful in what I do, you can too!

“Never give up on something you really want. It’s difficult to wait but it’s more difficult to regret.” – Anonymous.