500 Words a Week - Perseverance

What does perseverance mean, a quick google search brings up the definition:

“Persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.”

Trying to look to the future and figure out the path of our one life can be an inherently overwhelming thought process. If not done in a structured or guided way, our mind can run off in many directions. Playing out all the potentials for failure, and rarely focusing on what could go right, rarely focusing on how we could change our life for the better with some decisions in the present.

An image I have used to describe how I feel my new work adventure has been at times it feels like walking up to a door, knocking on it and waiting for an answer, over and over again, day after day. But I realised there was a problem in this analogy and how I had been going about my work. Succumbing to a philosophy of waiting for someone to open the door so we could start a conversation. In this metaphor, while I feel I’m being persistent, I’ve found myself doing something that everything tells you, you shouldn’t do. That is handing over control of your situation to another individual. Endlessly waiting at the door, hoping today might be the day someone answers.

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” - Albert Einstein

According to Einstein, I could be going insane, which upon knowing myself I think I’m already a little bit insane as with so many other wonderful individuals I know. For maybe this little bit of insanity we all possess is a part of what makes us who we are.

Einstein’s quote, when taken literally, makes us feel like we have to throw the baby out with the bathwater and start completely differently. This is where we take on board the Dyson philosophy. James Dyson created the wonderful Dyson Vacuum which we all know and love (or we love a cheaper not as good competitor to Dyson).

“I made 5,127 prototypes of my vacuum before I got it right. There were 5,126 failures.” - James Dyson

With each of James’ 5,126 failures, he changed one thing, tested it, saw if it worked or not, then changed another thing, on and so forth till the creation of the world’s first dual cyclone, bagless vacuum cleaner.

Returning full circle to me continuously knocking on doors, being nudged on by my friends Einstein and Dyson, what’s one thing I can do differently today that might bring about the result I was hoping for. This brings the emphasis back on what I can control and do, rather than forever differing results as to whether others open the door or not.

“Everyone gets knocked back, no one rises smoothly to the top without hindrance. The ones who succeed are those who say, right, let’s give it another go.” - James Dyson

Here’s to giving it another go.