The Strength Of Trying Again

By Suzanne Hamil, LMSW/RSW

I’m sure the thought has crossed your mind more than once: giving up on something. Not because you didn’t care…but because you were tired – tired of trying, tired of hoping, tired of feeling like you were always starting over. It’s the quiet kind of giving up that doesn’t happen all at once, but little by little. Then something unexpected happens when you decide not to give up – when you say to yourself, “Maybe I’ll just try one more time.”

When you take that next step, that’s when the version of yourself – the one you’ve never known before – the version of yourself appears, that was strong in ways you hadn’t yet discovered.

We often think of strength as something dramatic – lifting heavy things, pushing through pain, facing fear head-on but most of the time, strength is quiet. It’s the moment you get out of bed when everything in you says “stay.” It’s showing up to therapy after the first session didn’t help. It’s sending one more message when your heart says, “People don’t care.”

Real strength doesn’t roar. It whispers: Keep going.

Here’s the part no one tells you – every time you choose not to give up, even in the smallest way, you’re building proof that you can trust yourself. You’re teaching your mind: “I can survive this. I can rebuild. I can heal.” With each small act of persistence, that proof becomes your strength – the kind you didn’t know you had.

The truth is, healing doesn’t look heroic.
It looks like falling apart and coming back together – over and over again. It looks like forgiving yourself for how long it’s taking. If you stay with yourself through those moments, something beautiful happens: you start to believe again.
Not that everything will be perfect, but that you will be okay – even when things aren’t. That’s the power of not giving up on yourself.
It’s not about never falling – it’s about knowing you’ll always rise.

One day, you’ll look back and realize that the hardest parts of your story weren’t signs of weakness – they were evidence of the strength you hadn’t met yet. So, if you’re in that place right now – the messy middle, the uncertain part – don’t rush through it.
Stay.
Listen to yourself.
Let your quiet persistence remind you that you are still here, still trying, still worthy of the life you’re building.

Because the strength you’re looking for?
You already have it.
You just haven’t seen it shine yet. Don’t give up on yourself – your strength is closer than you think.