Everyone knows someone who is incapable of giving up. They don’t give up because they believe that giving up equates to failure. They maximize. They examine. In the most trying circumstances, they plan and pose questions like “I just don’t see how I’m wrong.” Happiness, to the world’s never-give-ups, is contingent upon persevering and manipulating events to suit their story. But attempting to achieve all that at once? Very almost impossible! Unless you are extremely wealthy throughout generations and have never experienced trauma from inheritance. Please understand that while persistence is commendable, the pattern of “never giving up” is frequently deceptive. Based on the objectives and standards that other people have established for us. The story that society tells us to strive for and conquer in order to be a happier, healthier, or better-off person is, symbolically, the desert. Pop culture, drinking culture, sex-exclusive culture, diet culture, and hustle culture make up the desert. Any culture that teaches us that putting our profession before our mental health or starving ourselves to death is vital to be validated is to be condemned. In the middle of endless stretches of sand, the desert offers the promise of an oasis. The desert claims we just have to “deserve” it. However, it can take years or even decades to reach that oasis, and once we arrive, leaving can be frightening. For this reason, we will do whatever it takes to stay, even if it means sacrificing our happiness or health.
