In life, you should strive to be the best at what you do. And to make this happen, it’s important to focus your time and energy on the one thing that you’re skilled and passionate about, and to let go of projects that are competing for your interests. Once you get going with a project, you will eventually face a Dip – a period of struggle, effort and little reward. To make it through this period, you must use grit and patience. Once you make it through the Dip, you’ll find that your skills have improved and that you are now in a better position than many of your competitors. Therefore, the Dip is the path to success.
What you can do:
Keep going, especially when it hurts.
We’re most inclined to give up during the moments when we feel hurt and discouraged. For example, in 1988 the Democrat Joe Biden was a promising candidate for the U.S. presidency. But then a scandal erupted around a trivial accident involving a quote in one of Biden’s speeches that had been mistakenly attributed to the wrong person. Biden was so discouraged by the overblown reaction that he withdrew his candidacy. However, if he’d persevered and allowed the minor scandal to blow over, he could very well have won.
So think twice about retreating when you’re feeling wounded and vulnerable. It’s probably best to take a moment to lick your wounds and then forge ahead.