Robin Sieger Blog

I have frequently read about the famous ex-Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s last ever speech. He was almost in his 90’s in very poor health and had agreed to speak to the pupils of his old high school, the famous public school called Harrow. On the day when introduced in glowing terms, Winston Churchill slowly made his way to the podium, looked at the assembly and said “Never give up; never, never, never give up”.

It is a quotation you will find in many books and often used in training manuals and by motivational speakers seeking to inspire their audience. Winston Churchill was of course speaking from a position of age and experience. Many times in his life had it seemed all over for him, in 1940, he became the Prime Minister of Great Britain, in the darkest days of World War II, when Britain stood alone. His sentiment then and later in life was never to give up.

It begs the question; never give up on exactly what? I intuitively know he means never give up trying, but upon reflection I personally feel it is about never giving up hope. When we buy a book on self improvement, on well being or on weight loss, we are not buying a solution, we are I believe buying the hope that these changes we seek may be realised in our lives.

There was an experiment I read about recently, where 40 mice were put in an aquarium tank, with no way they could climb out. After two hours whilst they paddled on the surface, 20 were removed at random and were then put in space where they could dry off and eat. Then they were tagged and returned to the aquarium and left there. It was noted that the mice that had never been taken out of the tank, drowned within a few hours, but the mice that had been given a chance to dry and eat, continued in some cases up to 3 days before they drowned. The conclusion was that the mice who were taken out of the tank returned to the aquarium with the hope that they could survive, the hope that they could get out again. The other mice tired and without hope or a positive expectation – gave up.

I have friends who are high altitude mountaineers, explorers and others who have been in survival experiences, they all agree that once hope goes, then it is very easy to just give up, and at that point dying becomes the likely outcome. There are books that recount people who defy the odds and survive when the situation seemed hopeless; when their companions simply gave up and quickly passed away.

It is very easy in day to day life to ‘give up’ – it is easy to abandon hope. To allow ourselves to believe that things are not going to improve, that life will be hard and the future will be a repetition of the past. I know I have had those feelings in the past and am sure in the future I will experience the feeling; the difference in the future is that I will focus my attention on a positive future, I will not allow myself to give up hope that things will be fine, no matter how sorry I may be feeling for myself.

How often have you told yourself “That’s not fair” and the feeling of being a victim of circumstances made you feel like giving up. Not too often I hope, but, we have all experienced them at some time or another. If we focus on the negative aspects of the past or the present, it is easy to imagine that nothing will change, which is why we must focus on a positive future, and take the actions which give us the hope and belief, that things are going to be OK.

Share This