Head vs Heart – do I have what it takes to keep going?

Do you know how many attempts Edison had at the electric light bulb?  I had heard it was 10 000 attempts and while checking this fact, I came across this:

After struggling to develop a viable electric light-bulb for months and months, Thomas Edison was interviewed by a young reporter who boldly asked Mr. Edison if he felt like a failure and if he thought he should just give up by now. Perplexed, Edison replied, “Young man, why would I feel like a failure? And why would I ever give up? I now know definitively over 9,000 ways that an electric light bulb will not work. Success is almost in my grasp.” And shortly after that, and over 10,000 attempts, Edison invented the light bulb.  [Original post here]

Imagine if Edison had given up after a few thousand attempts?   Failure is just negative feedback. It tells us we need to find another way forward to reach our goal.

So many people around me at the moment are facing set backs and obstacles on their way to their dreams and goals.  Myself included.  And at that moment – when you face the situation, – you feel like giving up.  You feel like, “What the hell!? Is it all really worth it?”  Actually, that’s a good question to ask yourself.

“Is it really worth it?”

You see, if the answer to that question is ‘No‘, then perhaps the dream or goal is not exciting enough or perhaps circumstances have changed so it is not as much as a priority?  If this is the case, it is easy to let go of that dream or goal.  Quite often, our logic wants to force us to give up too easily.  We look at the facts in front of us and can’t see the way out.  Let your heart into the equation – your intuition is very telling.

On the other hand, if you answered “Yes!!!” then you have your answer right there.  It’s still important to you, you just have negative feedback telling you that you need to find a new path.  Get creative, think out the box,  listen to your heart, engage with others that can help you find a new path.  Your passion for your dream will help you find that path.  It may take a few paths, but keep focussing forward and you’ll get there.

Read more on head vs heart decisions here.

Here’s an inspirational video

“Are you going to finish strong?”

Featuring Nick Vujicic