Making an Effort

Tonight was Bonnie's foray into producing a show for the Vancouver International Burlesque Festival. A 45 minute show involved several volunteer participants, with many hours of preparing video, and audio background for the performance. The numbers were still being cobbled together on the day of, and combined with a major performer backing out, as well as a computer hard drive failure, it would have been understandable for her to call the organizers and pull the show. Instead, she knew so many people were counting on her, and she was not one to back down.

The show was performed Sunday night, and there were several miscues and noteable problems, not the least of which involved a participant leaving in tears without saying a word. The day itself presented problem after problem, and the stress was palpable. So, my question is this: what makes a person go through these difficult tests, time and time again?

The man behind the venerable Tim Horton's food chain, Ron Joyce, once said "nothing takes the place of persistence." Granted, it prevails with common knowledge that the more someone keeps trying, the better chance they will have at success. What is it then that differentiates someone from trying again and again, and someone who gives up? I posit that the relationship between reward, risk, and pain are elaborately considered in the mind of each individual. If the person believes that the rewards of their efforts will far outweight any temporary pain, or difficulty, they will continue to forge on. If they feel it is too much trouble, they will stop.

A theme that continues in my mind is the tendency of people to describe themselves in fixed, firm, unchanging ways. Whenever I hear myself or someone else say "I am (something)", I know it destroys the chance of anything else being possible. For example, when I say, "I am an introvert", any behaviour contrary to this firm statement will be ignored, and I will do anything in my power to be right about it. I'll stay home, I'll stop enjoying spending time with friends, and I will make every effort to minimize contact with the outer world. Can you relate to this behaviour?

So, my only question now is, "Am I a writer, or not?".