“Things Fall Apart” is more than just a legendary novel most of us were forced to read during our high school english class. 
For a lot of us, it seems to be the hook to a never ending song that keeps playing on repeat in the background of our lives. Unfortunately, it’s not a good song. Within the lyrics are tales of health issues, followed by job stressors, followed by a promotion, followed by yet another disappointment.
After so many down falls, it’s only natural you’ll just want to pull the plug on the radio and give up all hope. And who can blame you? Hell, I was ready to give up on life several months ago. Thanks to a bad business decision made earlier this year, I lost clients, had my cable and internet cut off, and was carless. Of course, I got through it the only way most of us know how. I gave up. Because giving up is on everyone’s mind, I figured I’d share how to do it the right way from personal experience. So if you want to give up like a pro when it seems like everything in life falls apart, follow my advice…
1. Remember that everything is permanent.
Ever notice that whenever there is bad weather it often lingers for days? Or what about when you have projects at work that seem to go on forever? Some things in life just seem to be never-ending. Or what about your time in college? Didn’t that drag on for way too long? That’s because everything in life is permanent. When I went through my down time without a few clients, I felt like the drought would never end. Focusing on that helped me be upset longer so I could give up all hope.
It’s about time you accept that things will never get better for you. You’ll probably always be tired even after a nap. You’ll always feel hungry even after you eat and you’ll always be poor even though you work. Just give up on everything changing now and learn to live with your sucky life forever. Doing that makes it much easier to give up when your life is falling a part before your eyes.
2. Worry and complain at every chance you get.
Ever notice how the people who don’t worry are usually the happiest? Well that’s the opposite of what we are going for here. I learned that the only way to stay down long enough for you to want to give up on life is to complain and worry all day, every day. That’s what I did with my husband. As soon as he got home from work, I bored him to death with my tales of sorrow and worries about getting by. Ignore the people who say you should be grateful for what you have. You tried that and it didn’t stop your life from falling apart. It’s time you worry and complain at every chance you get.
3. Focus on all the negativity.
Sure, you may have gotten married last year and it’s true your birthday is right around the corner, but that hasn’t helped you get out of your current struggle. So forget about all of that stuff. Focusing on that certainly won’t assist in giving up when life falls apart. Instead, focus on all the bad things that contributed to the horrible situations. Take into consideration the bachelor’s degree that hasn’t amounted to anything, the rising gas prices that eats at your wallet and the ungodly amount of calories in the lunch you just had contributing to your expanding waist line. Negativity is what got you into this sham of a life, and it’s the only thing that will keep there!
4. Let other people’s negativity take over.
Whenever you see someone else wallowing in their problems, join right in. Sometimes your own negativity isn’t enough to make you give up on your own. You may need the help of other depressing people to make you realize how horrible life really is. The best way to give up is to surround yourself with negativity. Allow everyone’s bitterness to change the person you are. What’s the point in being happy and hopeful, if there are so many other things to be upset about? Focus on that and the world’s problems, and giving up will be a breeze for you!
5. Think about how much you’re not growing because of the pain you’re facing.
Let’s face it. You’re obviously not becoming a better person. If you were, you wouldn’t have had so many screw ups. After all, how many times do you recall your loving and perfect parents messing up? Probably never. And let’s not forget your mentor. There’s a reason why she’s able to give you such good advice about careers, business and living life. It’s because she’s never done anything wrong. In fact, all the people in your life whom you love and admire have been doing things almost perfectly once they got older. So it’s clear there’s something wrong with you. If you were growing, you wouldn’t be facing such pain. Rather than thinking about how you can improve, focus on everything you’ve done wrong and the pain you are feeling. Only then will you be successful on giving up on life. Remember, feeling pain and making mistakes is never a part of growing.
Got that? Great now go out there, make me proud, and start giving up like your life depends on it.
.. Seriously, my life didn’t start getting better until I decided not to give up. I realized that I only have one shot at life, so this is my chance to live it to the best of my ability. Why give up on life because of a few bad months, when you still have so much life to live?
Have you ever given up on life? What did you did?
TERRIfic Quip: This too shall pass.
