Try, Try Again

OK... you may think this is silly... but here goes. Lately I've been playing a solitaire game called FreeCell. I'd heard several people say that it's possible to win every game. At first I did not believe it. It turns out that it's true.

Since I figured out that it is indeed possible to win every game, the way I play has changed. I play until I win the game. Sometimes that means undoing several moves I've made - sometimes all the way back to the beginning. Though it requires patience and perseverance, I can win every game.

It's made me wonder. If I knew that I'd be successful, how would it change the way I live? Would I persist? Would I be willing to scrap all the moves I'd made and begin again? How about you?

Babies and toddlers know how to persevere. They babble until they learn to communicate with words. They scoot, and crawl, and cruise until they learn to walk. They practice every skill they want to learn continually. And they don't seem to mind.

Most of the things that I need to learn these days are soft skills - mostly they're relational. And I'll admit that I often despair that I'll ever get it. But playing FreeCell has reminded me that I shouldn't give up hope.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.