Perseverance Takes Courage; Changing Course at the Right Time Takes Wisdom

Perseverance Takes Courage; Changing Course at the Right Time Takes Wisdom Robin: “Perseverance takes courage; changing course at the right time takes wisdom.” Is perseverance a virtue and quitting a vice? Legendarily successful people often give the same advice: keep going and you will succeed. As Thomas Edison is quoted as saying, “Our greatest weakness is giving up; the way to succeed is to try again.” A century later, soccer great Abby Wambach expressed a similar view: “You need not only a competitive spirit but also the perseverance to keep going, whatever lies ahead.” Verification note: The book quotes this line. Snopes found that the earliest version bearing Edison’s name appeared in a 1958 newspaper; whether Edison said it cannot be confirmed. Success requires persistence. In hindsight, that statement is entirely true. But the reverse does not follow: persisting does not necessarily lead to success. Over the long run, “keep going and you will succeed” is neither realistic nor sound advice. Sometimes it is downright destructive. People often cling to things that will not work, sometimes because they believe that staying with them long enough will bring success, and sometimes because they believe successful people never quit. Either way, many keep hitting a wall and feel miserable, yet blame themselves rather than the advice. Success is not about persistence itself. The key is choosing the right things to stick with and quitting the rest. Of course, when the world tells you to quit, you may see something it cannot see that justifies persevering when everyone else would give up. But if the world is shouting at you to quit and you refuse to listen, persistence can become foolishness. #Quit_ThePowerOfKnowingWhenToWalkAway ---- Key takeaway: Success is not about persistence itself. The key is choosing the right things to stick with and quitting the rest.