In life, our existence becomes a series of patterns. Some of us live by a rigid routine that allows for maximum productivity. Others play it by ear, go with the flow, and tackle issues as they arise. Often our success is about the right balance of preparation, execution, and follow-through.

Each day is bound to have challenges. At some point things are going to get heavy. Stress might permeate our waking hours because there is simply too much that has to be done, or maybe we’ll be paralyzed by a surplus of free time and a lack of motivation.

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” This quote is often misattributed, but the sentiment holds true regardless of who the author is. Every day is a battle because there are things that must be accomplished. The world will not hold still and time waits for no one. Just because we don’t feel like working or progressing doesn’t mean we should cast aside our goals. In those gray moments of inactivity, throwing in the towel seems pretty appealing, but it won’t result in victory.

We must fight on. We must push on against the current. The days we want to quit are the most crucial — those are the days where we condition ourselves. Like a muscle, sometimes we have to work on through the pain to grow stronger.

The battles won’t stop.

Learn to like the battle. Learn to lose quickly and efficiently. If a project needs to be scrapped, scrap it. If you have to quit, make sure you isolate the defeat. Don’t let it bleed into the rest of your life and poison your other aspirations. Move quick and remember: everybody is fighting battles, so everyone has lost at some point. Learning the proper way to fall can make the difference between hopping right back up and rolling around with a broken leg.

The person with the most success is often the person who failed the most. Countless mistakes paved the way to a win. The thing that counted, the thing that paid off in the end, was the way they recovered, and the way they parlayed failure into success, the lessons they learned and eventually applied to a victorious war.