True Grit and the Tour de France

Andy Talansk off the bike in the stage 7 sprint finish

Every summer I have a fight with myself that I predictably lose.  The ever-present doping scandels and scoundrels of professional cycling make me vow to stop watching.  Then the Tour de France begins and I cave in like a house of cards.

Andrrew Talansky breathed a giant breath of life back into US hopes in European pro peloton when this promising young American stood on the top step of the podium last month as the winner of the Criterium du Dauphine. Winners of the Dauphine are always competitive at the Tour, and frequently gone on to win it.  Andy had horrific crashes in stages 7 and 8 which forced him to abandon the race after stage 11.

It was pretty evident early in stage 11 that Andy was in rough shape. He fell off the back of the peloton and was losing time to the leaders at an alarming rate. He was in very real danger of being eliminated from the race for finishing more than 8% behind the stage winner. His earlier crashes had left with with massive amounts of road rash and severe back pain. At one point in stage 11 the pain was so bad that he had to get off the bike and sit on a guard rail for 4 minutes. At that point he had 40 miles left in the race. French TV cameras were hovering like vultures and everyone was certain that he would abandon. To my amazement he climbed back on the bike and finished the stage. Somehow, he found the inner strength to finish the stage and make the time cut.

Andy knew at that point that he hopes for any positive outcome in the race were completely blown.  But he finished the stage--even though it was all alone out there and ended up more than 30 minutes behind the leaders and dead last. It was a clinic in courage, heart and perseverance. It reminded me of one of my favorite John Wayne movies as a kid: True Grit.

At the end of the race another cycling champion talked to the race commentator and used the opportunity to speak metaphorically to Andy Talansky (who was then still out there suffering alone on the road):

"My advice is: persistence wins all races." - Michael Rogers

Maybe Mick Rogers was speaking to Andy.  Probably he was speaking to the rest of us as well.

Andy Talansky: Courage and True Grit

IIWII

I caught myself saying it this week, and I was very disappointed in myself. A moment's indiscretion and it was out: "It is what it is." It's a phrase I dislike greatly. I was talking with a patient about a benign medical problem that couldn't be prevented or reversed and I said "IIWII". I don't want to make excuses for myself. I'll do my Hollywood mea culpa right now: I deeply regret the incident and take full responsibility for my actions. It just goes to show what happens when you let your guard down even for a minute. 

If we could cast a vote for our least favorite phrase of 2013, mine would be for IIWII.  I would've voted the same way in 2012 as well.*  I've thought about what makes the phrase so annoying.  Part of it may be the fact that people seem to stand around waiting to interject IIWII it into every conversation--whether it's relevant or not. Another reason may be summed up in one word: banality. But for me the real problem with the phrase is more subliminal.  

I will grant that IIWII works when when you just lost game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals in overtime.  But in this context it is almost always followed by "we'll be back next year and win it all". It irritates me when IIWII is used with a sense of helplessness or apathy that equates to "I choose to surrender, because this is too hard." It  reminds me of the advice Homer gave Bart on an episode of The Simpsons, right after Bart decided to quit guitar lessons.

If something is to hard to do, then it's not worth doing. You just stick that guitar in the closet next to your shortwave radio, your karate outfit and your unicycle and we'll go inside and watch TV. --Homer Simpson

Kind of funny how much we have to learn from Homer.  By contrast, you didn't hear Mormon tell his son "This is not working! These Nephites will never repent. We gave it our best shot and IIWII. Let's call it a day."  Instead he said: 

And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God. (Moroni 9:6)

Mormon was not an "I choose to surrender" or "I'm over this" kind of guy. He was the original Winston Churchill: "Never, never, never give up." It's a big part of what makes this guy so heroic in my mind. His spirit inspires me to try to banish IIWII from my vocabulary. 

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* Here for some very funny commentary on worst words of the year. Just be warned, you'll probably find that some of your favorites make the list.

Persistence vs. Perseverance

"The Subway" in Zion National Park - 2006
Nothing exemplifies the power of persistence like the slot canyons of the Southwest.
"The Subway" is a very hard hike, but undoubtedly my favorite. This place makes you feel small and insignificant as you stand below 800 foot cliffs that rise up vertically on both sides. 

My last post (here) about beginner's luck has me thinking about persistence as useful remedy for life's challenges. In doing so I came across a fantastic talk by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin on perseverance.* To make things potentially more confusing is the related word perseveration.** Perseverance is often considered to be synonym of persistence; perseveration is a derivative of it. But there are very important differences between these words, and they have me thinking about persistence vs. perseverance in particular.   

Since it's very easy to confuse the terminology, here are the formal definitions:

Persistence: the act of persisting; enduring tenaciously.
Perseverance: steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.
Perseveration: Uncontrollable repetition of a particular response, such as a word, phrase, or gesture, despite the absence or cessation of a stimulus, usually caused by brain injury or other organic disorder.

Since perseveration is a mental illness, it's differentiation from persistence and perseverance is less nuanced. Not so with the differences between persistence and perseverance.  Perseverance can be thought of as persistence in a noble or just cause in spite of hardship or opposition. Where perseverance has connotations of things noble and good, persistence has connotations which are more mechanical and less principled. While persistence isn't necessarily always bad, perseverance is almost always good. 

I've seen the following quote used to exemplify the fact that persistence is not always a good thing.

Insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results.

This quote is usually misattributed to Albert Einstein (or Benjamin Franklin, or Mark Twain). It actually comes from the 1981 Basic Text of Narcotics Anonymous. In his Psychology Today article (here), Ryan Howe, PhD shows that although the aphorism is clever, it is a lousy definition for insanity. The idea does, however, illustrate that persistence in an of itself is not necessarily enough. Dr. Howe's article quotes another blogger who points out that sometimes wisdom dictates that we do exactly what would otherwise seem to be insane.

Sometimes doing the same thing a second time when it hasn’t worked the first is indeed just foolish. But sometimes it’s shrewd. Wisdom consists, in part, in knowing the difference. 

I do not believe that persistence alone will be enough to see us through the tempests of life and safely into the harbor--even when guided by wisdom. The counsel of God's prophets would argue that it will require perseverance. Perseverance requires faith and hope. Paul didn't actually use the word perservere when he was telling the Philippians to hold fast, but that's what he was talking about (Philippians 1:27-28).  Elder Wirthlin taught:

I bear testimony that perseverance is essential to us in learning and living the principles of the gospel and that it will determine our progress as we strive to reach exaltation. 

With all the innuendo and subtleties that differentiate perseveration, persistence and perseverance, here's what I've taken away:

1. Mental illness or neurological disease drive us to repeatedly speak or act with nothing good coming of it. 
2. Wisdom dictates when we should be persistent and receive it's many rewards. 
3. Faith and hope enable us to persevere in remaining true to God and our covenants despite hardship, opposition or temptation. 
4. Only perseverance brings eternal rewards.

Left Fork of North Creek, Zion National Park - 2005
Persistence: a small stream within a stream cuts a channel into the bedrock.
It's neither good nor bad--just amazing.

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* This topic has also been addressed by others including the Apostle Paul (see Ephesians 6:18), Joseph Smith Jr., James E. Faust and David A. Bednar.
** Read this article from Psychology Today for a great comparison of perseverance with perseveration.