Depression, loneliness, and anxiety are at an all-time high. Yet, we have more possessions, connections, and options than ever.

What’s the problem?

It appears that instead of connecting, we are drifting further apart. We can’t find our friends. Our possessions don’t satisfy us and we have to have more. We try more and more medication to ease the depression and anxiety.

People are quitting too easily. They quit a difficult marriage. They quit a job. They quit a hard task. Anyone can start and have a “honeymoon” but it takes a certain mentality to stay and finish the job.

I tried a little gardening when I was first married (no money!).  I usually ended up with a huge pile of weeds and some tiny, even microscopic “fruit.”

My neighbor staked his tomatoes with “PVC” pipe and carefully poured water down the pipe to the deep roots of his plants.  He weeded every day.  He fertilized, protected with insecticide (not so good now!) and organized his rows so that each plant had space to grow.

Is it any wonder that his tomatoes looked the size of oranges when mine looked like marbles?

Try these five simple observations on productivity:

Depression, loneliness, and anxiety are at an all time high.  Yet, we have more possessions, connections, and options than ever.

What’s the problem?

People are quitting too easily.  They quit a difficult  marriage.  They quit a job.  They quit a hard task.  Anyone can start and have a “honeymoon” but it takes a certain mentality to stay and finish the job.

I love the Message translation of 2 Cor. 4:1—“…don’t throw up your hands and walk off the job because you run into occasional hard times.”

Here are my 6 secrets to “hanging in there…”: