“Never retreat, never surrender”…is the best way to end up
in a hole…
The idea that we should continue to work stoically on a
project until we have made a success of it is deeply ingrained within us. Perhaps
it’s the protestant work ethic that is instilled in from birth, or perhaps it’s the
fear of failure and of failing that drives us to continue to work when perhaps
a retreat, or all out surrender would be a better option!
Those who know my writing know that I am a big fan of doing
‘the work’ to get what you want out of life, and to do the most important
things to live closer and closer to your life of passion and purpose. Which inevitably often involves hard work. But in
spite of that there are times when each of us need to assess whether continuing
down the same single focused track is the best way to in fact achieve these
greater goals.
Seth Godin in ‘The Dip’ has written about the value of
giving up on lost causes (a great read by the way) and we all know from our
life experience that sometimes in order to move forward towards our ultimate
goals (not just our short term ones) that we need to take a step sideways, or
backwards…or stop on the path just a while to reassess.
The reality is that we can never go back anyway! Our ideas
of ‘going backwards’ are in fact an illusion. Life is a process and we can only
ever be ‘in the process’ i.e. moving forward and so the only logical thing to
be done is to choose the best path ‘forward’ even if that path happens to lead
backwards!
We all make mistakes. But instead of deriding ourselves for
them we need to instead always look to them as our greatest teachings, an
opportunity to learn, grow and evolve. And we must too be comfortable with
failing over and over again, because to achieve the greatest rewards in life
there will always be risk, and always some wrong turns made along the path of
passion and purpose. Embracing the risk, and embracing those failures as part
of the wondrous process of this life lived well is integral to living the shitout of life!
~Blessings
Cliff
