The Truth Will Set You Free – Part 6 of 20

ByMatthew

I recently read a post on Johnny B. Truant’s blog that really hit home. So much so that I wanted to do two things: share it with my readers and 2) think on and write about each piece of his post. The post is “20 Truths About Life No One Wants To Believe” and the sixth one I am going to tackle is:

6. Doggedly pursuing a stupid idea won’t turn it into it a smart idea.
I once tried to get a Ph.D in genetics. I hated my studies within a month, but I told myself that if I just stuck with it, I’d eventually love it and life would be grand. It didn’t, and eventually I wised up and quit. One of the best aphorisms I’ve ever heard is from the movie Christine, when Darnell says, “You can’t polish a turd.” So stop trying. That turd is a turd, and no matter how long you polish it, it won’t turn into a shiny new Plymouth Fury. And sure, Arnie got lucky in the movie, but his car turned out to be evil. There’s a lesson there.

There’s a huge difference between giving up and quitting because something is hard and/or it’s taking longer than you thought at the outset and stopping something that isn’t working, never will work and, honestly, never really stood a chance of working in the first place.

One of the keys to a great life is being able to tell the difference.

How to tell the difference?

That can be a tough one.

Knowing how to make that distinction, accurately, requires deep self knowledge and the ability to think clearly, calmly and authentically: all things I support my clients in cultivating, maintaining – and expanding.

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