Several years ago, I picked up a great book by a guy named Price Pritchett called YOU Squared, the Quantum Leap Strategy.
Pritchett tells a true story about how he was sitting in a quiet room at the Millcroft Inn, a peaceful little place hidden back among the pine trees about an hour out of Toronto.
He writes, “It’s just past noon, late July, and I’m listening to the desperate sounds of a life-or-death struggle going on a few feet away.
There’s a small fly burning out the last of its short life’s energies in a futile attempt to fly through the glass of the windowpane. The whining wings tell the poignant story of the fly’s strategy – try harder.
But it’s not working.
The frenzied effort offers no hope for survival. Ironically, the struggle is part of the trap. It is impossible for the fly to try hard enough to succeed at breaking through the glass.
Nevertheless, this little insect has staked its life on reaching its goal through raw effort and determination.
The fly is doomed. It will die there on the windowsill.
Across the room, ten steps away, the door is open. Ten seconds of flying time and this small creature could reach the outside world it seeks. With only a fraction of the effort now being wasted, it could be free of this self imposed trap. The breakthrough possibility is there. It would be so easy.
Why doesn’t the fly try another approach, something dramatically different? How did it get so locked in on the idea that this particular route, and determined effort, offer the most promise for success? What logic is there in continuing until death, to seek a breakthrough, with “more of the same”?
No doubt this approach makes sense to the fly. Regrettably, it’s an idea that will kill.
“Trying harder” isn’t necessarily the solution to achieving more. It may not offer any real promise for giving what you want out of life. Sometimes in fact, it’s part of the problem.
If you stake your hopes for a breakthrough on trying harder than ever, you may just kill your chances for success.”
Got thoughts?
This post originally published on my Training Blog
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Aaron Rashkin 