Many if not most accomplishments in this world appear to have been built on one of two things: talent or hard work. Usually, of course, accomplishments are built upon both. Suppose then that you lack the talent and neglect the work: chances are you will accomplish little in your lifetime. And you might be content with that. I don’t know.

Hard work is not always rewarded, of course. Sometimes, you spend your time chasing the wrong thing, or you go about it in the wrong way because you have been ignorant or stubborn. Hard work can turn out to have been a waste of life’s most coveted treasure. For some accomplishments, however, you might be willing to work hard in the right way on a worthwhile project, yet because you lack the requisite talent, you still come up short. This sort of thing happens all of the time in competitive activities, such as athletics.

Many great and good accomplishments in life take patience to attain. Often, the project itself follows years and years of preparation – in school, for example, or serving as an apprentice. Then, as the seasons shuffle past without success, despite your best efforts, the question naturally arises: have I done something wrong? And, depending on the answer, the next question should probably be, what can I do next?

America loves a persistent and resilient spirit. We enjoy the spectacle of someone bloodied but unbowed, knocked to the ground again and again, yet he struggles back onto his feet, to the roar of the crowd. We adore a comeback kid. We admire the little engine that could.

Does this widespread admiration suggest that you should never give up at anything? On the one shoulder, you hear the voice of a Winston Churchill exhorting you to continue, no matter the cost. On the other shoulder, you hear the famous quote that says a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds. Better by far to take a hint, stop beating a dead horse, and turn to something more useful before it’s too late. Learn from your failures. Foremost, learn not to repeat them.

So which voice do you heed? Do you reject the mounting evidence of failure and cut your losses, or do you shrug your shoulders, grip the harness closer, and push steadily on? I cannot answer that for anyone else. I rarely know how to answer that question for myself.

One thing I do believe – and I can mount some evidence on its behalf – is that periodically it pays to check your progress. Stop the plow long enough to satisfy yourself the furrow runs straight. Look backward at your starting point. Look ahead at how much further you have to go. Prove your work now and then, so that by day’s end you can take pride in the labor. That, or go in search of other occupations – those that will be better suited to your powers.

One more thing, if I may, but only as an article of faith: submit your frustrations, such as they are, to Almighty God whose consideration of your life’s journey is inexhaustible and whose desires for you will exceed and confound your own. You’ve tried working hard. Tonight, try praying hard. Somewhere between the sweat of the daylight and the hope after dark, you should find a path that leads to accomplishment and joy. Else, the sadness will crush a man and indict us all as a race.