The greatest temptations most people face in life are not what they usually think them to be. Temptations are not limited to the seduction towards lust, the call for greed, or even the lure towards laziness and mediocrity. 

The greatest temptation many of us find most challenging to deal with is the temptation to give up. We all get them when those feelings of doubt, fear, lack of self-confidence, and lack of self-belief come together. We are then tempted to quit in different ways. Some of us feel tempted to leave a study that is hard. Others, to quit raising their children who have disappointed them. Some families coming from a poor household and rough past, considering quitting with their life.

Some people can overcome this temptation through mental toughness and sheer perseverance.  They work twice as hard as the rest of us. They learn to never give up, to get really tough, resilient, and more prone to be super creative in thinking and in finding solutions. When things get difficult for them, they keep on marching and keep on believing. 

"There is no gain without pain," Ben Franklin, founding fathers of the United States, once said. There will be things that will go on that are out of someone's control. The worst thing someone can do is to let something that is out of their control, control them. They should rather get control of themselves, their emotions, and should not get angry or frustrated. Instead, they should learn how to stay calm and figure out how to move forward.

Losing motivation in doing something can stop someone in their tracks. They tend to procrastinate more, doubt their skills and abilities, and take them off the path to success. Despite it, where does the motivation come from in order for someone to get more concentrated and istiqamah in what they are doing?

One must learn to achieve success by accomplishing small goals. Accumulating the small wins will work their way up to more challenging goals. Then, avoid getting into excessive stress. High levels of stress can cause motivation to decrease. Low levels of stress can actually help someone perform better by making them more alert. Being grateful can also enhance someone's motivation as when a failure comes unexpectedly in someone's life. Failure in the examination as a student, failure to be a good child in the family, and failure in anything that they ever face within their age is actually a beginning stimulus for them to learn from the past. God does not bookmark someone's failures, but He celebrates His servant's attempts because He promised to give more than what they deserve in the future. 

As the Qur'an mentions, "Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear." (Quran 2:286).

The verse demonstrates Allah's kindness, compassion, and generosity towards His creation. He is the only one who decides what a certain person can and cannot do. He puts a burden on someone's shoulder to show that He cares for them, He is not finished with them and the best is yet to come.

No matter how successful people are in their lives, it does not give them immunity from challenges. There will always be a day when someone does not want to get out of their bed, and that is normal. But what happens when this feeling lasts for days or weeks or months, and they feel like they have lost their purpose and just want to give up?

When all of those feelings come together, someone has to catch up back by questioning themselves "why?" It will help them improve their thinking professionally as a growth opportunity that will benefit them in achieving what they want. Second, win through persistence. Persistence is the key to success, which will allow someone to make the most of their ability and showing endurance even when faced with challenges. The last one is to always be proud of themselves. They should stop comparing themselves with other people because looking at other people's privileges only makes someone feel down and lose their hope. Instead, they should compare themselves by looking at their yesterday's actions to be the better version of them for tomorrow and start to focus on themselves, their decisions, and their happiness.  

Whatever the actual reasons may be, someone has to know themselves first, their weakness, and their strength and remember that praying is the best indication of self-awareness. Make a du'a in every prayer to ponder and reflect upon individually. Additionally, the Holy Quran says, "He who answers the constrained, when he calls unto Him, and removes the evil and appoints you to be successors in the earth." (Quran 27:62)

Nurin Alia Abdul Manaf is a student in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia.