Thinking of Giving Up? Read This. · Contentpreneurship.com (FREE)

Oliver Parelius

7d ago in General

Thinking of Giving Up? Read This.

I wanted to give up—not in a suicidal way, but from a business perspective.

I felt lost and just wanted to quit on the spot.

Then, I discovered this -> (image of The Valley of Despair)

I think it perfectly captures what it feels like to be on a journey of improvement.

X-axis: Competence

Y-axis: Confidence

Here’s what it shows:

Uninformed Optimism: At first, you feel optimistic and confident, but you’re really just uninformed.

Informed Pessimism: As you face challenges, you realize the reality of the situation, and that the “grass isn’t greener on the other side.”

Valley of Despair: This stage tests whether you’re truly committed. It shows how important your goal really is to you, and it’s where most people quit.

Informed Optimism: If you persevere through the Valley of Despair, your confidence will align with your competence, and you’ll finally get the hang of it.

What this taught me, was that problems are inescapable and inevitable, but it’s a matter of what type of problems we want to face.

I can’t give you an action to prevent this from happening, but I hope that if you’re in the Valley of Despair at the moment or facing it in the future, this image will remind you to keep pushing through.

If you persevere, you’ll reach the end of the tunnel.

I hope this post brought you some value.

12 comments