Linda | 
01 13th, 2010| 
 Photo credit: My friend, Thomas Chen I didn’t watch American Idol with much vigor or loyalty through the years, that is, until I started dating Alan (He’s one of those crazy involved viewers who actually votes.) Mostly, I used to watch the bad singers because they were entertaining and then my interest would wane. What always strikes me as puzzling about the bad singers are those who vow to not give up despite how suicidal their ballad just made everyone. Outside looking in, it’s obvious most of these performers should never sing again but the handful that vow never to quit? If they’re true to their word, they could waste even more years towards a craft that may never yield the desired results. May not even come close! We’re a society that teaches and encourages persistence. If first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again. Only quitters, quit! I’m sure you can think of a few more cliches. But when does it stop being inspiring and admirable and start being wasteful (of time and resources), sad, and pathetic? What exactly defines a lost cause? Is it ever admirable to give in to reality and forfeit? There have been some great dreamers out there who’ve made our world a better place due to sheer persistence, but perhaps they’re a different breed? Maybe they’re Outliers? Is it ever time to realize a new dream and put your time and efforts towards something a little more attainable? I’m quite stuck. Is it ever okay to throw in the towel on your dreams? |
Watch this clip of the untalented before answering.
Texas native. Living and working in Austin, TX. Twenty something. In hot pursuit of good food, adventure, and laughter. Dreams of owning her own place with a big giant library.
January 13th, 2010 at 10:32 am
I always thought the point of not quitting was to not quit before you are finished. Don’t quit before you graduate. Don’t quit training before you manage to run the race. Don’t stop studying before the test. The keep trying mentality is to push to towards a goal. Once you’ve accomplished your goal, you set a new one.
The key here to me is, if you tried your very hardest, but didn’t “win” when you attempted your goal, you stop, reassess and move on. If you lost because of some definable reason, then maybe you correct the default and try again. Mostly though, trying to do the same thing over and over expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.
January 13th, 2010 at 11:16 am
I hate the constant barrage of “if you can dream it, you can achieve it!” propaganda. Show me a one-eyed midget NBA player, then we’ll talk.
Then again, I think of the story of Junot Diaz, working on The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao: he wrote the first seventy-five pages of the novel, then spent seven years laboring just to continue it. He got to the point of almost giving up, but he couldn’t let himself. Three years later: Pulitzer.
Maybe you have a right to keep bashing your head against the same wall as long as you have at least a little impartial encouragement? Like Diaz had an MFA and a critically successful collection of short stories to his credit, so he must have known he wasn’t barking up entirely the wrong tree.
January 13th, 2010 at 11:28 am
Mef,
I guess i keep thinking about .. thomas edison, ben franklin, and MLK, and Gandhi, and Mandela.
What would happen if they happen to call it quits? I’m sure they either felt insane or were deemed insane a few times.
I guess the journey itself as people say can be life altering in itself.
Who would have thought I’d get this far out in my thinking by sympathizing with American Idol rejects.
January 13th, 2010 at 11:41 am
Hi That Kind of Girl,
I love that story and maybe those are the stories we that back up our “don’t stop/die trying” propaganda. Speaking of your one eyed miget NBA player, I saw a feature on ESPN about a blind high school football player….
yeah he sometimes tackled his own team member.
I don’t know. Lucky for me, I have very attainable simple dreams so far.
January 13th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
I’m assuming that you watched last night’s premiere. Did you see the guy in the beginning who “sang” Womanizer? Also, Roberto (guy who dressed like LaToya Jackson) totally broke my heart. He looked like such a wounded puppy after Simon said “Absolutely not” :(
I think it’s better to know now than to find out later, when you’ve wasted even more time and more effort. This same theory can be applied across other aspects of life, including relationships, career choices, etc.
January 13th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
I know I just told you this, but I truly think it depends on your goal. If your goal is to educate people or change a culture, then your goal is enormous and life changing and I think you should probably expect insanity. I think that sometimes you have to repeat yourself and keep it fixed in your brain that TIME has passed and so possibly some of the people you are talking to did as well. Because your goal encompasses generations and is so large, you have to account for time.
However, when your goal is overcoming a physical limitation? I guess it depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If it’s to become the first blind pro football player, then the only two factors that might yield given effort and time and only with slight probability are a change in technology or in the game. But if it’s just to PLAY? Then clearly you can find people and accomplish it.
But I think what I’m trying to get at is that the contestants aren’t saying I want to make music and I’ll never give up until I can create music. That would allow them to abandon singing and work towards an instrument or a band or something. They are saying I can overcome my voice.
January 13th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
Tough call. There’s lots of amazing stories of people overcoming horrible handicaps. I don’t know of a 1-eyed midget in the NBA, but Tyrone Bogues was only 5’3″. There’s a D1 wrestler currently competing with one leg, and there’s this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvxc8S5ybS4
*rewatches video*
Then again…
January 13th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
^ For the record, when I said *rewatches video* I was referring to the American Idol one.
January 13th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
haha, thanks for the clarification Martin. I’m at work so video watching is limited but can’t wait to see it when i get home
January 13th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Martin,
I’ve heard of this guy and saw a clip before. He’s really good!
January 13th, 2010 at 11:42 pm
i don’t think quitting is smart BUT i think it does take an intelligent person to know when to move on and not waste your time.