Edit wiki/perseverance.md — Work Reflections

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# perseverance

"monkey wants us to run away, but clear thinking knows it's a skill to refine."

## the instinct to flee

when things are cooked — when the project is broken, the deadline is tight, the team is frustrated — every instinct says to bail. switch projects, take a long break, find something easier. the monkey brain optimized for survival, not for pushing through hard technical problems.

but clear thinking knows: the ability to stay when things are hard is a skill. and like any skill, it gets better with practice.

## when to persevere vs. when to pivot

this is the hard distinction. sometimes the right move IS to backtrack — "when nothing is working, backtrack like crazy" (see [[zooming-out]]). perseverance doesn't mean stubbornly pushing in the wrong direction.

the test: am i persevering on the right thing, or am i just afraid to admit this approach is wrong? [[critical-path]] helps here — if you're on the critical path, push through. if you're grinding on something that doesn't matter, zooming out is the better move.

## optimism as fuel

"always think of things that could work, never fear that stuff won't work out." optimism isn't naivety — it's a practical stance. pessimism drains energy and makes giving up easier. optimism keeps you looking for solutions.

this connects to [[narratives]] — an optimistic narrative sustains perseverance. a defeated narrative undermines it.

## energy expenditure

"expending more energy frequently works." from the CEO of a startup i worked at. evolution optimized us to save energy, but in knowledge work there's no reason to conserve. see [[startup-workflow]].