Never give up.

You see these three words in school every day. Your teachers encourage you to exhibit it because you are more likely to overcome your challenges if you choose to keep going. In this day and age, it is important to be resilient, but what does it mean to embody a never-give-up spirit? How do we dig deep into our reserves of determination and grit our teeth to keep going?

This book aims to explore the value of perseverance through language. As you go through exercises that serve to sharpen your reading comprehension skills, you will learn how never to give up from many animals and famous people. You will gather tips and insights on how you can train yourself to be more resilient. After all, resilience is like a muscle you can train.

I hope that you will enjoy this foray into resilience.

Growth Mindset

First things first.

How do we cultivate a resilient attitude? It boils down to having a growth mindset. You may have heard your primary school teachers educate you about the growth mindset. To jog your memory, if we have a growth mindset, it means that we believe that we can train our brain to work better and more efficiently. This strong self-belief enables us to view challenges as learning opportunities instead of obstacles or threats.

It is not easy to grow our mindset, but it is not impossible either. First, we must train our mind to focus on our commitment and effort instead of the results. We must tell ourselves that it is normal to make mistakes. When we feel down and embarrassed about making mistakes, we should remind ourselves of the power of YET. Instead of wallowing in negativity, we should tell ourselves, “I have not mastered this YET.”

Adding this simple word to our self-talk is a useful way to remind ourselves to NEVER GIVE UP and keep trying.

The Power of Yet: Real-Life Illustration

Instead of saying "I do not have the courage to present in front of everyone", reframe it to "I do not have the courage to present in front of everyone yet.”

I am scared stiff but I will present in front of everyone anyway.