“When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.” -Persian Proverb
Every part of me wanted to quit. So why was I still holding on? Was it that I was afraid of failing? Or was it something much deeper than that?
Can you relate to such a scenario? The prospect of failure is not fun. Especially when you’ve already consumed a lot of time, energy, and resources. So how should you and I respond when nothing seems to work? Do we put our heads down and continue forward? Or do we turn the other way and cut our losses?
The answer came to me after making a trip to the local library. I picked up The Dip by Seth Godin and eagerly read outside the library while sitting in my car. The words on page 23 quietly but powerfully jumped out at me.
The Secret to Your Success
“If you haven’t already realized it, The Dip is the secret to your success. The people who set out to make it through the Dip—the people who invest the time and the energy and the effort to power through the Dip—those are the ones who become the best in the world. They are breaking the system because, instead of moving on to the next thing, instead of doing slightly above average and settling for what they got, they embrace the challenge. For whatever reason, they refuse to abandon the quest and they push through the Dip all the way to the next level.”
And so it goes…
The Next Time You Find Yourself in the Dip
The next time you find yourself in the dip, what should you do? Here’s some food for thought:
1. Do the words “this too shall pass” mean anything to you? Did these words hold true the last time you called on their power?
2. What’s the absolute worst that could happen by persisting forward with courage and might?
3. What will it cost you? What do you stand to gain?
These are questions I’m addressing right now. How do you address the dip? What do you do to when nothing seems to work?
Related Posts:
- 5 Ways to Turn No into Know
- Public Failure and Picking up The Pieces
- Not the Bucket List—The Because List
