I'm not sure if I've written about this before. I tried to search but Google appears to have disabled the search function on my blog posts. So, if you've read this before, I apologize. But some things bear repeating, and I've recently been reminded of this experience myself anyway, so I thought I'd share it here.
When I was in architecture school, I was frequently frustrated and disappointed by my lack of ability to do things that others in the class seemed to be able to accomplish so easily. I didn't have experience in drawing or art. I didn't have the computer rendering skills that so many others seemed to use with such great ease and skill. I despaired of ever being able to do the beautiful things that they were.
One day I complained to my professor about this inequity. His name is Antonio Serrato-Combe, who is a talented artist, historian, professor, and mentor. He listened very kindly to my complaints and said the following:
I like to run marathons, he said. We all start out from the starting line at the same point, but there is invariably in every race a point where I find myself running alone. The group of people who are very speedy have run on ahead, while those who are slower than me fall behind. And I find myself running without seeing anyone else. This is a very discouraging feeling, and it presents me with a choice. I can quit the race. I can keep running the same pace and finish the race in my own time. Or I can dig deep, find a little more strength, and put on a little more speed and try to catch the people in front of me.
That was it. That's all he said. But the implication was clear.
I would never quit. That's not how I do things.
So that left me two options - run at the same pace and finish in my own time, or I could put on a little extra speed and try to catch the others. Either way, I would finish, and it is in finishing the race that we find success, regardless of how we have run the race.
I did finish the school. I didn't do too badly, either, all things considered. And I learned how important it is to JUST NEVER GIVE UP.
Don't quit.
When I was in architecture school, I was frequently frustrated and disappointed by my lack of ability to do things that others in the class seemed to be able to accomplish so easily. I didn't have experience in drawing or art. I didn't have the computer rendering skills that so many others seemed to use with such great ease and skill. I despaired of ever being able to do the beautiful things that they were.
One day I complained to my professor about this inequity. His name is Antonio Serrato-Combe, who is a talented artist, historian, professor, and mentor. He listened very kindly to my complaints and said the following:
I like to run marathons, he said. We all start out from the starting line at the same point, but there is invariably in every race a point where I find myself running alone. The group of people who are very speedy have run on ahead, while those who are slower than me fall behind. And I find myself running without seeing anyone else. This is a very discouraging feeling, and it presents me with a choice. I can quit the race. I can keep running the same pace and finish the race in my own time. Or I can dig deep, find a little more strength, and put on a little more speed and try to catch the people in front of me.
That was it. That's all he said. But the implication was clear.
I would never quit. That's not how I do things.
So that left me two options - run at the same pace and finish in my own time, or I could put on a little extra speed and try to catch the others. Either way, I would finish, and it is in finishing the race that we find success, regardless of how we have run the race.
I did finish the school. I didn't do too badly, either, all things considered. And I learned how important it is to JUST NEVER GIVE UP.
Don't quit.
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