Every forward step you take is a step toward progress. It’s an improvement upon your most recent position. Sometimes, even when you take one step and get knocked back two steps, you are still in the business of making progress.

The trouble is that one step forward and two steps backward almost always ends up being looked at negatively when, in the grand scheme of things, you’re still closer than you were than when you started. In fact, you are probably a lot closer than you were by taking the two steps backward.

Failure Is Not Final

Any step backwards is not ultimate failure. It’s not the end of the rope. And, it certainly isn’t final. [tweetable]”Failure is not final.”[/tweetable] I don’t know who said that but they were right. (It’s a recurring theme that I seem to keep hearing.) The only thing final in life is death. So, unless you’re dead, you still have opportunity to succeed. You still have opportunity to learn from your mistakes; learn from your missteps. You have opportunity for redemption.

When is it OK to give up?

When is it OK to give up? Never. Point blank! It is never OK to give up on your dreams, give up on your hopes, and to stop moving toward your desired goal. Ordinary people give up when things get tough. Ordinary people give up when others say you can’t do it. Ordinary people give up when the odds are stacked against them. The opposite is what extraordinary people do.  Extraordinary people keep moving. Extraordinary people say “yes, I can” when others say they can’t. Extraordinary people find ways to surmount obstacles and turn the odds in their favor.

Are you an ordinary person? Or, are you extraordinary people? Do you look at challenges and feel small in the midst of them? Or, do you charge toward your challenges with a mindset to face and overcome them? When you fail at one step, do you sit and sulk or do you learn from the experience, regroup, recharge and move forward?

Keep Going!

The differentiator for people who live victoriously is that they move forward, even when they have been knocked down. Victorious people win because they do not give up. You can be victorious. Decide today that no matter what you face, no matter what people say, you will not give up. You will keep going. You will be victorious.

Photo Credit: superterrific via photopin cc