At various points in the course of running our businesses, we’ll be faced with challenges of varying degrees; some minor, others major. The challenges won’t be as important as how we respond to them.

One of the easiest things we could do when faced with daunting situations is quitting. Quitting is easy and doesn’t come with a reward. It takes more courage to keep trying than giving up.

When life’s pressures and the demand on us seem to be too much to handle, the human body is quick to respond by telling our brain to quit. Rather than trudge on and face situations squarely, the body’s default response is usually to quit.

We have to subject our body and mind, by training and discipline, not to quit, otherwise, it’ll always avoid pain irrespective of the possible success we may achieve as a result.

There are four reasons why we shouldn’t be quick to give up when it feels like we aren’t making any progress in business or we’ve hit the rocks.

1. Overnight Success Is a Myth

Setting up and succeeding in business isn’t an easy feat, hence we should disregard the notion of overnight success. It just doesn’t exist. On an average, it takes several tries for us to achieve success. If we have this at the back of our mind, it’ll go a long way to ensuring we hold on just a little longer.

Thomas Edison was written off by his teachers for being too stupid to learn anything. He was fired from his first two jobs for being unproductive and finally required 1,000 unsuccessful attempts before inventing the incandescent light bulb.

Always the optimist, when asked how it felt to have failed 1,000 times, Edison replied: “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1, 000 steps”.

That business idea or plan we’re working on may need one or two alterations or multiple attempts to get it rolling.

2. We Learn When We Fail

The thought of the satisfactory feeling that comes with success should be enough to want to hold on a little longer. The American novelist, Truman Capote once said that “failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.” This gives the impression that failure is a necessity for success to occur. The failures make you appreciate success when it finally arrives.

We grow when we experience setbacks and failures. “Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above it” says Washington Irving. It’s only when precious metals pass through fire that their true beauty and quality become apparent.

3. The Likelihood of Regret

A battle scene in the 1995 Paramount Picture movie “Braveheart,” Mel Gibson, starring as William Wallace was addressing a soldier who had suggested if they fled the battle ground, they’d live.

Wallace, in response to the soldier, made a very important point that if they run they may live only for a while, and on their dying bed at an old age they’d wish for the chance to go back in time to face the enemy.

The same thing applies to setbacks in business. When we quit we may end up living the rest of our lives in regret as to what could have been if we’d just held on a little longer.

When talking about regrets, the story of Apple Computer’s third co-founder, Ronald Wayne, who sold his 10% stake in the company for $800 will always come to mind. If he’d held on to his stake in the company it would be worth approximately 100 billion of dollars in present day value.

4. Tenacity Is the Key

Without the tendency to see our effort through, we’ll usually not achieve anything worthwhile. This is because history is replete with instances where humans push themselves to the brink in order to emerge successful.

Having the tenacity to finish despite facing failures along the way is a more important trait to possess than talent itself. The people that achieved the extraordinary were ordinary people who didn’t give up.

We need to understand also that failure isn’t final. When we stop upon a facing a setback, we’ll never know what lies on the other side and sadly, the habit of quitting can set a precedent for the future which can spiral out of control.

Finally it’s erroneous to assume that once we fail to hit a target, it’s a mark of failure. That’s not true. Failure occurs when we decide we can’t go any further and refuse to try. When we give up, that’s when we have failed. Make a decision not to give up and keep trying. You still have the opportunity to correct or alter your position in life.

Richard Agu is a researcher, entrepreneur and freelancer, passionate about entrepreneurship and self-development. Currently, Richard writes for Entrepreneur.com, Goodmenproject.com, among others. Follow him on Linkedin.com by clicking here now.