Winston Churchill never said it.
I know, it's a bit of a shock. We’ve seen the posters. We’ve read the LinkedIn "thought leader" posts. It’s plastered across gym walls and etched into the bios of every self-help guru on the planet. "If you’re going through hell, keep going." It is the ultimate rallying cry for the weary.
But if you dig through the 50 million words Churchill actually wrote and spoke, you won’t find it. Not once.
The International Churchill Society has officially flagged it as a "red herring." Most researchers think it actually started in a religious journal in the 1940s or perhaps as a riff on a Victor Hugo line from a century earlier. It didn’t even get linked to Churchill until decades after he died.
So why does everyone think it's his?
Basically, it sounds like him. It captures the exact, stubborn energy of a man who looked at the literal end of the world in 1940 and told his country to keep their chins up. Even if the quote itself is a "fake," the truth behind it is very real. When you’re in the middle of a nightmare, the only way out is through the fire.
The Real Advice Behind Going Through Hell Keep Going Winston Churchill
While he might not have used those exact seven words, Churchill was the undisputed king of not quitting.
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Honestly, the real stuff he said is actually more intense. Think about May 1940. France was falling. The British army was trapped on a beach at Dunkirk. The Nazis were basically at the front door. Most politicians would have been looking for the exit.
Churchill went to the House of Commons and talked about "blood, toil, tears, and sweat." He didn't promise it would be easy. He promised it would be miserable.
Why we get stuck in the "hell" phase
Usually, when things go south, our instinct is to stop. We freeze. We analyze why it happened. We wait for the storm to pass.
Churchill’s actual philosophy—the one that fueled the going through hell keep going Winston Churchill myth—was that stopping is the most dangerous thing you can do. If you stop in hell, you stay in hell. You’ve gotta keep moving until the scenery changes.
He once told the students at Harrow School, "Never give in—never, never, never, never." No matter how small or petty the struggle. That is the actual DNA of the "keep going" quote.
How to Actually "Keep Going" When Everything Sucks
It’s easy to read a quote. It’s a lot harder to apply it when your business is failing, or your relationship is a wreck, or you’re just struggling to get out of bed.
Persistence isn't some magical talent. It’s a series of very small, often boring choices.
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- Shrink your timeline. Don't try to "win" the year. Just win the next twenty minutes.
- Acknowledge the fire. Churchill was famous for being brutally honest about how bad things were. He didn't do "toxic positivity." He admitted it was hell.
- Keep your feet moving. Even a tiny step forward is better than standing still and letting the flames catch up to you.
The "Victory at All Costs" Mentality
One of his most famous verified lines is: "Victory at all costs... however long and hard the road may be."
That’s the core of the going through hell keep going Winston Churchill spirit. It recognizes that the road is going to be garbage. It accepts that the timeline might be years, not weeks.
Lessons From the Man, Not the Meme
We love the myth because it makes struggle sound poetic. But the reality of Churchill’s life was messy. He failed constantly. He was out of power for a decade—his "wilderness years"—where everyone thought he was a washed-up joke.
He didn't just give speeches; he painted. He built brick walls. He wrote massive history books. He kept his mind occupied while he waited for his moment to return.
If you're feeling like you’re in the "wilderness" right now, the lesson isn't just to "survive." It’s to stay active. Don’t let the stagnant air of a bad situation settle into your lungs.
Does the origin even matter?
Kinda. It matters because we should respect history. But in another sense, the quote has become its own thing. It has helped millions of people push through grief, addiction, and failure.
The fact that it’s a "misattribution" doesn't change the fact that it’s good advice. It just means the credit belongs to the collective human spirit rather than one man with a cigar.
Actionable Steps for the "Hell" You're Facing
If you're reading this because you're actually in a dark place, forget the posters. Focus on these three real-world tactics used by people who actually survived the "hell" years.
- Audit your "Inner Circle." Churchill had his "Secret Circle"—a group of advisors who told him the truth even when it hurt. You need people who won't just pity you, but will help you navigate the fire.
- Change the scenery. If you can’t change your life yet, change your room. Change your routine. Stagnation is the oxygen that keeps "hell" burning.
- Accept the "Sterner Days." In 1941, Churchill asked a school to change the lyrics of a song from "darker days" to "sterner days." He said, "These are not dark days; these are great days."
That is a massive mental shift. When you stop seeing your struggle as a "dark" tragedy and start seeing it as a "stern" test of your character, everything changes.
The fire doesn't have to consume you. It can forge you.
Start by identifying the one thing you've been avoiding because it feels too hard. Do that one thing today. Not tomorrow. Just one small, "stern" task to prove to yourself that you haven't stopped walking yet.
Next Steps for Resilience:
- Identify the "Smallest Possible Move" you can make in the next 60 minutes to resolve a source of stress.
- Review your current goals and remove anything that isn't essential for "victory" in your current situation.
- Read Churchill's 1941 "Never Give In" speech to understand the difference between blind optimism and gritty resolve.