When you start doing something and put in all the efforts that you think are needed to complete that thing, and at some point, you think that you are reaching nowhere. Maybe you are putting all those efforts in the wrong direction. Take a break and contemplate the situation once again and start off freshly with all your energy in a new direction with a changed perspective. Trust me your hard work and all your sincere efforts to pay off in the end.  

I would always go back to my motive, consider if there is still a “pay-off.” If the scales do not weigh in the favour of a positive response and there is nothing served by my efforts. I would then divert that energy somewhere more meaningful. Try, retry, and try again and again. It may be that you are putting your effort into the wrong thing, or it may be that you simply failed to achieve what you wanted. If you really want it, redouble your effort, and try again. If you let yourself be put off by the first failure, you are not going to achieve a whole lot in life!

It is easy to write than do. I can tell you from personal experience that it takes a lot of surrounding to put your best effort into something productive next time if you are depressed with the failure of previous task. Nature rewards persistence. Want to see this in action? Keep feeding few birds every day and see how they see you friendly over a few months’ time. Keep smiling towards people around you, no matter how good or bad faces they make, see the good things that comes to you next time.

I cannot tell you what will work for you. You must find what works for you and not even your parents or wife or any friend can do that for you. Whatever you do, fail progressively and not recursively in same problems. Your efforts never go in vain. Maybe the expected results are not achieved. However, your efforts always give you an experience which makes you wiser in the later part of your life. Your effort not yielding the expected output could possibly also mean that you need to put in much more effort or try different approach.