If there is no wind, row

There is a Latin adage that says, “if there is no wind, row.”
I do like that.  I reckon that once I have established I am heading in the right direction then it makes no difference if there is a good wind blowing me along or I need to row.  Naturally I prefer a good wind, but I have not had to live long (even though I have) to know that life is not all smooth sailing.
At times things seem to be really against me and I need to struggle for what I want (perhaps like bailing in the analogy).  Thankfully that is not always the case or I may be inclined to give up.  But it is a fact of life that sometimes things are against what I know is best for me.
But it seems to me that is a blessing in disguise.  The only way to grow stronger is face and overcome opposition.  I reckon that what I face early, strengthens me for what I face later.  Never sought and never desirable but always beneficial – as long as I let it be.  To me it is really sad to give up perhaps unknowingly just before reaching a goal.
Most goals I want to reach I am encouraged along the way.  It may be just a bit here or there but always enough to help me know I am going the right way, and fortify me for what may lie ahead.  It reminds me of the saying “never doubt in the dark what was true in the light.”  Sort of ties in with another thing I have heard.  “Never make a decision when you are down.”
It is weird but when I am down, I am always tempted to give up on a dream.  Yet it seems to me that is the most important time to hold fast.  To just hang in there. 
I do not want to be someone who talks like their best days are behind them.  I reckon my best days are in front of me.