Why Trying Stops Making Sense: The Psychology of Learned Helplessness

Jump to TL;DR You send out a tailored application, an hour or two spent getting it right, referencing the role specifically, leading with the right keywords. Nothing comes back. Not a rejection, just silence, the modern default. You do it again the next week, and the week after that, and at some point a quieter, more dangerous thought arrives: maybe it does not matter what I do. That thought is not a character flaw. It is a learned prediction, and psychology has a name for the pattern behind […]

https://gauravs82.wordpress.com/2026/06/30/why-trying-stops-making-sense-the-psychology-of-learned-helplessness/

Sosiale Dood

In kamers vol, maar tog so stil, Ek praat, maar niemand hoor my wil. Onsigbaar tussen almal saam, Gevang in vlees, verloor my naam.'n Skadu wat verdwyn in lig, 'n Gees wat swyg, geen vriend in sig. Verweerde drade, een vir een, Tot net ek oor bly, man alleen.Die oë sien, maar kyk verby, Geen hand word uitgesteek na my. My lag verstom, my stem word sag, Soos mis wat wyk voor môrelig.Ek roep. Ek wag. Geen antwoord kom. My wêreld raak al hoe meer stom. Geen plek meer by die vuur se […]

https://lastingminutes.wordpress.com/2026/06/28/sosiale-dood/

Wat Bly Oor

In skerwe lê ’n lewe eens heel, Vergete oomblikke wat niemand meer deel. Die puin van gister rus in stilte koud, Net fluisteringe bly, van geheime oud.Sagte lig val deur ’n oop vensterruit, En stof vertel waar trane eens wou uit. Wat eers gevul was met lag en lewe saam, Verdwyn nou stil, soos skadu sonder naam.Herinneringe klou aan tyd se brose hand, Soos spore wat verdwyn in droë sand. Net sagte eggo’s sweef nog deur die lug, Van vreugde wat nie ooit weer keer terug.In […]

https://lastingminutes.wordpress.com/2026/06/28/wat-bly-oor/

What Remains

In the shattered pieces of a life once whole, Moments vanished, lost without a soul. The ruins of yesterday lie still and cold, Only whispers remain, their secrets untold.Light shines softly through an open pane, Illuminating the dust where tears have lain. What once was full of life and cheer, Has now dissolved, with shadows near.Memories cling to time’s frail hand, Remnants of love lost in the sand. Nothing remains but a whispered tone, What once was joy, now overthrown.In […]

https://lastingminutes.wordpress.com/2024/08/28/what-remains/

Vincent’s Dream

In fields of gold beneath a swirling sky, Vincent dreamed in color, bold and high. But while he lived, the world was blind, To the storming beauty in his mind.With every stroke of pain and hue, His starry nights and iris blue, Misunderstood, he bore his plight, Alone, adrift in darkest night.The echoes of his somber cries, Unheard until his demise. And only then, the world took heed, Admiring the brilliance they’d once made bleed.How quickly turn the tides of fate, From cold […]

https://lastingminutes.wordpress.com/2024/06/10/vincents-dream/

Alone

Alone in the silence of my room,I feel the weight of my endless gloom.No laughter, no love, no one in sight,Just the emptiness of a sleepless night.The clock ticks on, time crawling by,As I lay here and wonder whyI am cursed with this crushing pain,This loneliness that drives me insane.Memories flood my restless mind,Of a life I left so far behind.Of friends and family, once so near,Now distant and fading, no longer here.The darkness closes in on me,As I drown in my own misery.Desperate for a […]

https://lastingminutes.wordpress.com/2026/06/28/alone/

Om saam met ander te huil

Jesus het gehuil (Johannes 11:35).Dikwels wanneer mense in groot smart verkeer, weet jy nie altyd wat om te sê of te doen nie.Dan is dit nodig om te weet dat jou blote teenwoordigheid, hoe lomp en onvaardig ook al, meesal genoeg is. Dit is dikwels die eerlikste en mees egte manier van simpatiseer – net om daar te wees.Die afgelope week hoor ek 'n eenvoudige en kinderlike storie wat dié waarheid mooi illustreer.Van die klein seuntjie wat by die aanhoor van die nuus dat sy beste vriend se […]

https://lastingminutes.wordpress.com/2025/10/07/om-saam-met-ander-te-huil/

The Gift of the Thorn

‘The gift of the thorn’ in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (presumed to refer to a demon), is mindbending in understanding God’s wisdom to help us stay close to him.....(Paul’s writings, verse 7 to 10)Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I […]

https://lastingminutes.wordpress.com/2017/10/02/the-gift-of-the-thorn/

Duty

He stands with shoulders bowed by years,By quiet weight, not loudest fears.An immigrant with weathered hands,Who learned that hope on labour stands.Three jobs lost. A lifetime gone.The race moved past while he held on.His body aged before its time,Yet still he rose with morning's chime.Each ache now lingers longer still,Each step demands a sterner will.The joints complain, the muscles burn,Yet every dawn he will return.Not chasing wealth, nor seeking praise,Nor counting out his harder days.He […]

https://lastingminutes.wordpress.com/2026/06/28/duty/