Keep searching and you might just find it

Recently at work I was working on developing a new system for performance management for our staff.  We always tracked several important aspects of performance but recently innovated our work processes rendering the old ways to measure performance inaccurate. 

We needed a new way.  Initially we saw all the reasons why this would be difficult.  There is a ton of complexity in the business and trying to find a simple, consistent method seemed impossible. 

So we kept hitting roadblocks.  We kept searching for new ways to measure performance and then tie that into direct, immediate feedback, but each idea hit a wall and soon we felt we were no closer to a solution than when we started. 

But we kept at it.  We kept searching for a way.  We tweaked and adjusted aspects of what we were doing, we worked through new pathways, and we experimented with new approaches. 

Ultimately we developed a systematic way to monitor the performance of each staff member and provide recurring feedback to him or her.  It allowed us to have a better control over our business and a better understanding of the natural fluctuations that occur in a complicated system.   

Many times in my life this pattern has shown itself.  It starts out with optimism and a mindset that the solution will be easy to find.  But as our ideas kept coming up short, we had to backtrack or start from the beginning. 

Often, when it feels as though it is hopeless, that is the time that we need to keep pushing forward.  It is amazing how many times the path forward was hidden just past the biggest obstacle. 

It seems as thought the saying, “It is darkest before dawn” is a perfect way to conceptualize what is happening.  Pushing through the darkest points often reveal the flash of light that ultimately points to the solution.

In Grit – The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth, the author has done research into this exact pattern.  In a research study she took part in, the authors concluded that, “When you keep searching for ways to change your situation for the better, you stand a chance of finding them.  When you stop searching, assuming they can’t be found, you guarantee they won’t.”

This seems so obvious that many people will probably not think much about it.  But if we aren’t careful we give up looking for the solution just before we are about to find it. 

Having grit means that you continue to persevere and push through obstacles.  It doesn’t mean that you had extreme effort a few times but rather that you had consistent effort. 

This consistency is important because it helps us avoid exerting too much effort and then burning out just before we find the solution.  Instead learn to keep going and use consistent effort as the measurement, not the intensity of that effort.

Everyone hits obstacles.  Everyone feels hopeless at times.  But if we learn to keep pushing and working through these obstacles we can get through the darkest times to find the solutions that we need to keep improving.