We Learned This as Children

When we were children, the rules of learning were obvious.
Nobody expected to master something in a day.

You started with a bicycle with four wheels.
The extra wheels kept you from falling.
After a while they came off.
The first rides without them were clumsy and slow.

You wobbled. You fell. You tried again.
Eventually balance appeared.

No mystery. Just time and repetition.

As adults, something strange happens.

We expect progress to be fast.
If a project doesn't work after a few attempts, we abandon it.
If something doesn't grow quickly, we move on.

From one effort to another. From one idea to the next.
Always restarting.

The child didn't persist because he was disciplined.
He persisted because it was something he wanted to do.
He persisted because he didn't know quitting was an option.

Somewhere along the way, we learned it was.