Kihelakayo: Keep Going, Even in the Storm

Kihelakayo: Keep Going, Even in the Storm

A young man once asked his Lakota grandfather what the answer was to life’s difficulties.
The old man replied with a single word:
“Kihelakayo.”
“Keep going.”

This simple phrase carries profound wisdom—because life is both joy and pain, light and shadow. The call to Kihelakayoisn’t about denial or toxic grit. It’s about choosing to face discomfort head-on, with awareness, with intention, and with support.

Storms come in many forms. For some, it’s the sacrifice that success demands:
We give up comfort, rest, favorite routines, or time with friends. We face deadlines, difficult team dynamics, unexpected loss, doubt, and fear. The pain, the exhaustion, the loneliness—it’s all part of the process.

But here’s the truth: no one can want it for you. The fire has to come from inside.

Yet even when the fire is internal, we don’t weather the storm alone. We need our team—friends, mentors, therapists, partners, colleagues. Still, when the wind howls, it’s you versus the storm.

So how do you stay in it—without burning out?

Endurance isn’t about ignoring your pain or muscling through every challenge with a clenched jaw.
It’s about building habits that support your mental and emotional health—so when things get hard (and they will), you’re able to bend without breaking.

Here are 10 powerful tools to help you stay in the fight:

🔹 A clear why – your purpose fuels perseverance
🔹 Discipline – motivation fades, but habits keep you going
🔹 A strong support system – no one succeeds alone
🔹 Mental toughness – your mind will quit before your body does
🔹 Small wins – progress keeps momentum alive
🔹 Rest – pushing through requires refueling
🔹 Perspective – discomfort is temporary, but growth lasts
🔹 A role model – someone who’s been through it before
🔹 Gratitude – a mindset shift when the struggle feels unbearable
🔹 Faith – in yourself, in the process, in what’s on the other side

You don’t have to love the storm, but you can learn to trust yourself in it.

When discomfort becomes too much, when you’re constantly sacrificing your well-being, sleep, and sanity—it’s time to pause.

Healthy grit honors both resilience and rest. It asks:

• Am I overriding my body’s needs?

• Am I pushing for the right reasons?

• Do I need to rest or to reach out?

Sometimes, grit comes from fear, people-pleasing, or perfectionism. That kind of grit wears us down.
But when perseverance is rooted in purpose, support, and inner conviction—it becomes sustainable strength.

To close, I offer you the full story—words passed down through Lakota oral tradition. May they remind you that storms are not the end of your story.

Kihelakayo

A young man asked his Lakota grandfather
what the answer was to life’s difficulties.
“Kihelakayo,” said the old man.
“Keep going.”
And then he said:

“There are many realities to life
such as joy and sadness, winning and losing,
standing and falling, plenty and hunger,
good and bad.
But the ultimate reality
is that life is a journey,
and sometimes we walk it in sunlight and
sometimes in shadow.

No one is asked to be born,
but we are here
and we must walk our journey
with our strengths and weaknesses.
Within each of us is the will to win
as well as the willingness to lose;
or to put it another way –
the determination to face life
or the fear to turn away from it.

Life is not always easy,
there are difficulties – storms, if you will,
that bring loss, setbacks, sadness, heartache
and disappointments of every kind.
But every storm, every difficulty,
can also teach us to be strong.

To learn to be strong,
we must face
the storms and difficulties
that life throws at us.
It means crying when we need to,
but it also means to keep looking for answers, to keep hoping.
It means to survive this moment,
and the next, and the next,
until the darkness passes
and the sun rises again,
as it always will.

Life’s journey is like climbing a hill.
To reach the top
we must do it one step at a time.

We should always remember
that the smallest or weakest
or slowest step
toward the sunrise, toward hope,
toward the top of the hill,
is stronger than any storm
or difficulty.

And we should never forget
that the secret to determination
is to keep going
no matter how weary
we may be
or no matter what we face.

Above all, we must
keep going
Kihelakayo.