Why I'm sick of hearing "never give up"

Some people say giving up is not an option. They don’t just say it, they shout it at themselves through clenched teeth while lifting something heavy over their heads for no particular reason. 

Then they write an ebook about it, and before you know it there’s a whole bunch of freshly motivated individuals out there shouting slogans and lifting heavy things over their heads for no reason. 

Never give up. Ever. No matter how bad things get. No matter what the pain.  Hang in there and fight. On your feet soldier, on your feeeeeet! 

Normally I’d say to each their own, but sometimes people with chronic illnesses read slogans like these and can feel bad about themselves. They can feel like failures for not getting out of the house, or out of bed, and doing more with their lives. 

“When was the last time I lifted a bunch of heavy things over my head for no reason” a young person with IBD might ask themselves, while slumped in anguish on a toilet seat trying to navigate a bowel movement through two strictures and a fistula. 

So today I’d like to offer you some alternative advice, which I wish someone had given me during the times my illness was kicking my ass on a daily basis, and it’s this: if you’ve never given up, maybe it’s time to give it a go.

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