DON’T EVER STOP

 

Sometimes, without even realizing it, we take a break from life. And sometimes, life itself pulls us aside and says, “Take a moment to breathe.” No matter whose idea the break is, sooner or later, returning from that pause is a decision one must make for themselves.

Life had done the same to Faruk. “Take a moment to breathe.” and he, in a way, took an indefinite break. Because there had been a period in his life that hadn’t gone the way he wanted. During that time, his motivation faded, and he simply couldn’t start again. Meanwhile, life kept flowing; children were growing up, seasons were chasing one another, people were getting married, becoming families, growing older. But Faruk had stopped — and he couldn’t move forward again.

After university, Faruk had wanted to stay in academia and became a research assistant. Organized, hardworking, and full of hope, he wrote down his goals, worked tirelessly, and greeted each day with enthusiasm. But the competition was fierce. Many assistants vied for the same single lecturer position.

What set Faruk apart, however, was his courage and initiative. He said what needed to be said and tried to fix what needed fixing. Some admired him for it. Others were irritated. And in the end, despite deserving the role, someone else became the lecturer.

The injustice hit him like a thunderbolt. Weeks passed, but he couldn’t shake it off or move forward. It was as if, in the final stretch of a marathon, someone had tripped him, letting the runner behind claim victory.

He had fallen and, instead of getting up, kept saying to himself, “How did this happen to me? I was supposed to win. It was my right.” He couldn’t rise.

A friend suggested he step away from everything for a while to clear his mind. It made sense—after all, he wouldn’t become a lecturer now. So he left the university where he had invested so much. He considered applying elsewhere, but first, he decided to take a break.

Weeks turned into months. Months turned into years. Faruk remained frozen, yet he couldn’t stop blaming the world. He didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger. It was as if the switches in his body had been turned off, and someone else would have to flip them on. He rarely left the house; his hair and beard had grown wild. Lecturing was no longer on his mind. Books on his desk gathered dust. His notebooks lay scattered.

Then one morning, a notification on his phone caught his eye:

“Career Summit: Speaker: Hasan Akın.”

He froze. Could it be the same shy student who once copied notes for him, the one he had helped during classes? A spark of curiosity, tinged with bitter nostalgia, stirred within him. He checked the date, time, and location immediately.

Could Hasan—the student he had once taught—be the one to switch him back on?

With his hair combed and freshly shaved, Faruk entered the seminar hall, surprised at the crowd. He looked at the stage. There he was… Hasan, once his student, now standing confidently under the lights, radiating self-assurance. Faruk compared himself, involuntarily, to the former student and felt a twinge of regret. Hasan held the microphone and spoke with conviction:

“Success doesn’t happen all at once. Move forward with small, daily steps, like drops of water. Drip patiently into the soil, and it will eventually bloom. No matter what, never stop. Keep going.”

At that moment, Faruk reflected on the years he had wasted, how he had fallen so far. In his youth, he had been bright, ambitious, unstoppable. But injustice had plunged him into depression, and the excitement that once overflowed had been replaced by quiet surrender.

After the seminar, Hasan spotted him in the crowd. He paused, then smiled warmly:

“Brother! It’s so good to see you! I learned so much from you!”

Faruk smiled, though a shadow lingered behind it.

“So… you’ve taken the torch.” he said.

Hasan’s tone turned gentle:

“Maybe you just stepped back for a while. I continued where you left off.”

Faruk felt a warmth he hadn’t felt in years. Hope stirred within him. He may have been late to the race, but nothing was truly over. Even dry soil can bloom again if you’re willing to plant.

That night, Faruk sat at his desk. He gathered his scattered notebooks; the pages he had started were blank again. But this time, the emptiness didn’t scare him. He picked up his pen and wrote at the top:

“I’m starting again.”

He made a plan. A little reading, a little writing each day. Soon he was finishing one article a week. He buried himself in books to catch up, updated his knowledge, structured his days around exam schedules. Morning walks turned into regular workouts, and he had grown stronger, fitter. Step by step, he began clearing the rust from his soul. Like soil long left fallow, he was slowly being tilled again. And on the horizon, the goal he had lost sight of was reappearing.

That night, in the margin of his notebook, he wrote the sentence that had cost him years, the one Hasan had said:

“Never stop.”

But he added his own note. Because as long as you keep moving, no matter what happens, you can make progress. And the more you move forward, the more you heal. No door is truly closed. The door of hope was still open. Yes, he hadn’t tended his field for years. But now, this renewed Faruk was sowing again, and deep inside, he knew the harvest would be more abundant than ever.

 

The Experiential Design Teaching aims to guide people toward their true purpose.

It helps them reach a state of awareness where they can make clear, conscious choices and find genuine solutions to their problems.

Its programs; beginning with Who’s Who and continuing with Mastery in Relationships, The Psychology of Success, and Mastery in Avoidance are designed to help people become happier and more successful versions of themselves than they were yesterday.