learn to stay with the problem longer

The inability to sit and work on a challenging problem for any meaningful amount of time is one of the greatest barriers to progress.

When a challenge reaches a level of difficulty that we are not used to, it’s not unusual to flinch as a first instinct and go into pain avoidance mode:

You jump over to a less challenging problem of lesser importance.

You pull out your phone and endlessly refresh your news feed.

You defer to the future, telling yourself that “you’ll get to it later”.

In some cases, you may even quit completely: resolving to avoid the problem indefinitely.

Indulging in the instinct to dodge pain and friction in this way sabotages progress and learning.

All else being equal, the person who can sit with a challenging problem the longest will make the most progress.

Albert Einstein famously said of his own problem-solving abilities: “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s that I stay with problems longer.”

If your goal is to make progress at a faster rate or to get unstuck, the first instinct you need to rewire is what you do when a challenge arises.

Instead of running away, challenge yourself to stick with it and work through it.