Originally Posted by
My Comment
I took the quote quite literally when I heard it. I am guilty of avoidance on occasion, but I keep trying. But there's no sense trying the same thing over again.
For example, the job hunt. Let's say you repeatedly get rejected. Dogged determination might not yield results, because the methods are wrong. You should definitely have something to do, just as you should definitely have someone to love in life. But if you show up every time at a employment bureau, and they are ineffective, it is senseless to keep using them. Use phone, or email to get in touch with potential job leads. If you are bad with dealing with people, try different approaches, or simply say "screw the employer, I'm gonna work for myself." Launch your own business and do freelance work.
This is perseverance, trying different things to see what out of those actually has value. And it's different for every person. What he suggested is unnatural for many people, plowing ahead despite failures. Resistance can be overcome, but outright failure usually is a cue that something is wrong about the approach. This should not be used to excuse sitting in one's room alone rather than going out and finding a job. But if you suck at being hired (improper decorum, weird manners, or something people just don't like about you), setting yourself up for a cycle of abuse is not a healthy solution. Figure out what you are doing wrong, and do it right.
At the end of the day, I still believe this "quaint expression" has merit. It just shouldn't be used to excuse running away from problems. Try another path, see what works, this is sanity. Insanity is trying to change people through means that have been shown NOT to work.