5 ms·
I wish this article hit on an important point: when should the persistent quit? We all know we should know when to hold and when to fold, but in practice that's
by xivzgrev 2y ago
I wish this article hit on an important point: when should the persistent quit? We all know we should know when to hold and when to fold, but in practice that's a hard decision to make especially when we're invested. And someone who is "persistent" vs "obstinate" should be able to do this: quit when it's right to do so.
The closest thing he mentions is this, "persistence often requires that one change one's mind. That's where good judgement comes in. The persistent are quite rational. They focus on expected value."
Following that, if I'm working on x thing, and the expected value is < some other big thing, I should quit and start the other thing.
But there should be a "grass is always greener on the other side" counter weight - some other thing may LOOK like higher expected value, but that's because you don't know the shit under the hood.
I would've liked him to have touched on this, as I don't think you can truly call someone persistent but not obstinate unless they can actually walk away from something if necessary.
- hklgny 2y agoFor me he touches on this here: “One thing that distinguishes the persistent is their energy. At the risk of putting too much weight on words, they persist rather than merely resisting. They keep trying things. Which means the persistent must also be imaginative. To keep trying things, you have to keep thinking of things to try.” If you have ideas on what else to try, you persist. If not, maybe time to move on or risk it becoming obstinance.
- zhynn 2y agoIt's a paradox, expertise will tell you which one to pick (know when to quit | never give up). Tom Sachs called principals like these "Paradox Bullets". The movie: https://vimeo.com/293569057 https://vimeo.com/293569057
- etothepii 2y agoDoes the answer to this lie with the tree PG discusses. If the goal is, "do something great." Then one should never quit.
- tinycombinator 2y agoAnd how would you know if something is actually "great" or important enough to never quit? That your efforts aren't better spent elsewhere?
- BeetleB 2y agoI know it's meant to be a joke, but I actually agree with this poster: https://despair.com/products/stupidity https://despair.com/products/stupidity
- eloisant 2y agoSometimes to do something great, you need to give up your failed project to start over with something that have a chance to work.
- etothepii 2y agoApologies, I was referring to the specific thing one is doing (and giving up on) as a node below the "do something great" headline. That is you don't give up on the overarching objective "do something great" because you have realised that the something you are doing is not helping you achieve that headline goal.
- yamrzou 2y ago> when should the persistent quit? There is a book that addresses this question: Quit by Annie Duke