Persistence or Insanity

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

-Benjamin Franklin

Persistence is key to reaching your goals. But how do you know if you are on the right track or just doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results? Unfortunately, there is no easy way to know. Since there is no way to know how long it will take to reach success, there is always the uncertainty of whether you need to allow more time or alter your strategy.

Suppose you want to cut down a tree. All you have is a butter knife, so you go to work. Needless to say, you won't make much progress. Granted, given enough time, you will be able to cut down the tree with the butter knife. At some point you have to conclude that your rate of progress is slower than you would like.

You then change to an axe or a chain saw. With a more powerful tool, you will make greater progress. Although this is a simplified example, it illustrates that you have to monitor your progress and be willing to adapt and adjust your strategy as needed. Your goal never changed, you never gave up, but you did make some adjustments with the intent of accelerating your progress.

It took Thomas Edison 10,000 attempts before he was able to create a workable electric light bulb. He didn't keep repeating the same experiment 10,000 times. If he did so, he would never have discovered the light bulb. Repeatedly engaging in the same unsuccessful behavior, in the hope that something will work, is insane. With each new attempt, Edison made a change. He persisted until he achieved success.

Edison never gave up. With each unsuccessful experiment, he learned what didn't work and then tried again with a slight adjustment. If at any time, Edison had concluded that it wasn't possible to make an electric light work, he would have given up and failed.

As another example, let's say you are trying to get a job. You have sent out one hundred resumes but have not yet had a single interview. Here are the questions you may have. Do you need to send out more resumes before you get a response? Are you sending the resumes to the appropriate people? Are you contacting those businesses that could best use your skills? Is there a better way to reach businesses other than mailing resumes? Is your resume written properly?

To say the least, it's very frustrating when you have so many variables. There is no reason why you have to try only one approach at a time. You can have several versions of your resume you send out. Additionally, you can contact employment agencies and attend job fairs.

Often, you don't get immediate feedback as to whether or not your approach is working. Someone may hold onto your resume for several months before giving you a call. So if you were to conclude, after only two weeks, that mailing resumes wasn't working, you would be wrong.

Whenever you attempt something new, utilize several approaches simultaneously. Don't try something only once before moving on to your next idea. Give each approach time to work. You can greatly reduce your frustration level by having a number of irons in the fire. But don't have so many things going on at once that you can't give each adequate attention.

Persistence works every time it's applied. The only people who fail are those that give up. Be intelligent and flexible. Learn, adapt, and adjust as needed. Keep going and you will succeed.