Failing is Common, Trying is Rare

When you die, you appear before a studio audience and they give you a standing ovation. The host then interviews you about your great successes and misses in life. One thing you realize, when they review the footage, is that you didn’t really try most of the time. You thought you had tried and failed to learn a second language, to make a million dollars, to get really fit. You made an attempt or two, but in hindsight you were not in any way determined to make it happen. Fake trying is hard to see in real time, at least in yourself, but there are hints. Five years ago, I signed up for a 10k race when I was in no shape to run 10k. I had months to get ready, so by race day I could easily finish in less than an hour. There were setbacks. I injured my foot, so I couldn’t train for a while. When I was about recovered, we had a brutal heatwave, which made it hard to get enthusiastic about training. Then I had a minor medical procedure, which set me back another few weeks. Ten days out from…