A secret to perseverance

As an economics student, I study trade-offs all the time; and as a human being, I face trade-offs every day. Evidently, none of us can 'have it all', because both resources and time are scarce, so we must give up some things in order to have others things.

Consider the case of preparing for a job interview. In order to adequately prepare oneself for the interview, one must sacrifice time that could have otherwise been spent on enjoying, say, a leisurely activity. When making the decision of whether to prepare adequately, one would weigh the clear gain from preparing - in terms of the increased likelihood of getting the job - against the cost of missing out on an amount of pleasure from consuming leisure time.  

If it so happens that the gain is not considered to exceed the cost, then one would make the rational choice of not preparing adequately for the interview. This is entirely reasonable. 

Yet if we alter our attitude towards preparation, the decision could change. If, for instance, you see further gains to be obtained from preparation, such as increasing your knowledge of a particular industry or honing your (mathematical) skills by answering practice questions, then the benefit is not only a higher probability of landing the job, but also a personal development that will serve you well in the long-term. The latter could be more valuable than an extra hour or two of leisure time, even if the higher likelihood of getting the job is not.

Altering our outlook to what we do is important because, when things get tough in any task, preparing for a job interview or otherwise, and the alternative of greater leisure time becomes more appealing, perseverance is needed to continue. To persevere, we must see a purpose, a meaning, or a wider benefit in what we do, otherwise, why on earth would we put ourselves through the pain? Giving deep thought to some of the more subtle gains in your work could provide a purpose to continue. 

The take-home message is this: when one reaches the point at which one is considering 'giving up', one should consider some of the wider benefits that could be gained from continuing. In the case of preparation for an exam or an interview, it might help seeing the preparation as useful for all future exams and interviews to come, and not just for the one in the immediate term. 

Though at the same time, if, after much thought and reflection, you do not see such a benefit to you or a positive impact on other people, then letting go of the task at hand might actually be the better choice.