Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Last night, we had to have the hard conversation with our daughter about possibly quitting something she’s involved in. She didn’t really want to quit, she just wanted to alter the way in which she does it. We talked it through, and we all came to the conclusion that persevering is the optimal course of action.
If you’ve never watched the Markus Zusak Ted Talk, author of The Book Thief, then you are really missing something. He quotes writer Samuel Beckett in his talk, and offers his own perspective. It’s worth watching. The famous Beckett quote is this:
“All of old. Nothing else ever. Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
Try again. Fail better.
These are words we can truly live by. If something’s not working, we must alter the course, but stay the course, that’s what’s most important. Keep working at it. Let your frustrations and failures help you march on toward completion—toward finding satisfaction in it all.
Last summer, I found myself at a low point with book publishing and promotion. I was not at all frustrated with writing and the writing process, but rather with the time one must spend promoting his or her work as an independent author. It’s not all fun and games. It can be exhausting, but it comes with the territory, I’m afraid.
However, I took a little break from it, went on vacation, spent time with my family. I put things into proper perspective, and I came out better for it. I’m continuing on my writing journey and self-publishing journey as we speak, and I feel so happy about it. I’m working on a collection of short stories and it’s changed my focus and brought joy to my life.
I stayed the course. Persevered.
You can do the same.
We all can.
Sometimes, you just need to adjust the perspective, and when you do, it makes persevering feel like it’s what you always should have done in the first place.
*
Stephanie Verni is a hopeless romantic, Professor of Business Communication at Stevenson University, and the author of Inn Significant, Baseball Girl, and Beneath the Mimosa Tree. Along with her colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus and Chip Rouse, she is a co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt. Follow her on Twitter at stephverni or on Instagram at stephanie.verni.
