I bought a truck about 3 months ago and decided to install a retractable cover for the bed. According to the attached instructions and a couple of YouTube videos, the whole job should take about an hour.
It took me 12.
And that’s not including rewatching the videos at least 6 times.
Last week, I dared myself to go through the car wash. It’s not like I thought the cover would get swept up in all the brushes or get sucked off by the automatic air dryer, but I was concerned with how well the overall seal was. Would my yoga bag, blocks, and tub of grocery totes stay dry?
It was a test I was dreading but the seals held.
I learned a lot from this experience.
1. I wasn’t meant to be a car mechanic.
2. I can stick to a task other than reading or knitting for longer than 20 minutes.
3. Perseverance really pays off.
Perseverance is not throwing in the towel just because you lost two out of four bolts that look nothing like those available at Napa Auto Parts.
Instead of walking away in shame when the woman at the register says “I’ve never seen that type before. You got it on EBay? Consider it a life lesson”, you vow to show her.
Perseverance is a process. It’s diving into the unknown with a purpose. It’s being creative and resourceful despite disappointment and challenge.
Once committed, you stick with it.
No matter what the task, perseverance lets us follow through on whims and fancies, as well as requirements and deadlines.
It gives us a sense of accomplishment. It’s a feeling like no other.
Solving a crossword puzzle, whipping together something for dinner, finishing a book, learning a language, vacuuming one room, putting together a photo montage, redecorating, learning folk dances, getting a smile out of an old crankcase, all these things can reinforce what makes us feel competent. Hence, building up self-esteem.
The fact is, taking 12 hours to do a one hour job is great for my ego, because I now know I could do it again in ½ the amount of time.
I don’t plan to, but I could.
Alexandra Langstaff 