"If you're going through hell, keep going"

Life often places us in challenging circumstances where pain, loss, fear, or uncertainty can feel endless and overwhelming. At times like these, the instinct to stop, give up, or escape the distress may become powerful. Yet succumbing to that urge only prolongs suffering and stagnation. To keep moving, even incrementally, through adversity is an act of immense courage and perseverance. Just as a traveler does not linger in a burning building or treacherous landscape, remaining stagnant in one’s hardships gives them more fuel to burn us down.

Continuing forward despite hardship is not about denying or belittling pain, but about refusing to let it define the destination. Adversity is often a passage, not a permanent location. The very act of moving, seeking help, changing perspective, taking small actions, prevents becoming entrenched in despair. Progress, no matter how slow, affirms an underlying hope: the belief that relief or resolution may yet lie ahead. The metaphorical “hell” can be any form of personal struggle, depression, failure, or crisis. These are seasons or tunnels, not destinies.

Perseverance in hardship fosters resilience. By refusing to stop in moments of misery, one builds tenacity, wisdom, and compassion for oneself and others. Sometimes, simply enduring, breathing, taking the next step, having the next hard conversation, subverts the grip of suffering. Momentum, even when it feels futile, disrupts the illusion of permanence that grief and agony create.

Hope emerges through motion. The courage to keep going reveals that darkness is temporary, and that meaning or deliverance may arise exactly by virtue of continuing the journey. Human history is filled with stories of struggle transformed by resilience. When facing personal or collective hells, persistence holds the promise of reaching the other side. The journey through hardship must continue, for only by going through do we eventually reach the light beyond.