The Downside to Persevering

Is it good for us to finish everything we start? Perhaps perseverance makes us strong and dependable.

We might finish all those books that we lose interest in after a few chapters. We complete the course we signed up for, even when we realise it’s not what we’d hoped it would be. Perhaps we make our kids continue their music lessons even when they hate them. After all, we’ve invested lots of money in the piano or other instrument.

But what if there’s a downside to persevering? What if instead of making us strong, it prevents us from listening to our hearts? Could persevering send us in the wrong direction? What aren’t we doing while we’re doing the things that aren’t right for us?

If we push ourselves or our kids to keep moving forward, despite our hearts telling us we should stop, are we saying that getting to the end is more important than the direction in which we’re heading?

We tell ourselves we’re lazy, fickle, and weak when we want to give up. But what if that isn’t true? What if giving up is a response to inner promptings?

Does never giving up encourage us to stop listening to our hearts, to stop listening to God, to stop trusting what we hear and trying something new? Do we become hardened to the possibility of new ideas, staying stuck in the groove that we’ve carved out for ourselves?

Something Extra

You could read my Secret Unschool story, Acorn: Is It Okay to Give Up.

This story was first published in the Virtual Kitchen Table community.