American novelist and short story writer John Cheever –a personal favourite since a friend introduced me to his writing back in 2006– once apparently said that wisdom is the knowledge of good and evil, not the strength to choose between the two.
I thought of this in the context of the conflicting messages we are so often bombarded with on the subject of endurance and resilience. How strongly should we fight setbacks? What is the difference between obstinance and ‘true grit’? When is it acceptable –or even advisable– to quit?
One school of thought, rather traditional, suggests that we should never ever abandon in the face of difficulty. In the opposite corner, the ‘fail fast’ philosophy states a preference for cutting losses quickly when tests reveal that something is not working as planned.
Buried deep inside most –if not all– of us, something seems to suggest a sort of natural balance between progress and frustration, wins and losses, good and bad news. Some people will even go as far as saying that to reach maturity is little more than that — a realisation about the bittersweet taste of reality. But is that guide helpful when it comes to making concrete choices?
Not in my view. With Cheever, I think the biggest challenge is not to mix discerning the right option from mustering the energy to carry through with such personal read. Two distinct challenges of a very different kind. A cognitive one, error prone, and one affecting our will, constantly threatened by the tempting path of least resistance.
We would do well never to confuse the two!
