62.1 Perseverance

 62.1 Perseverance

 

Question:

How to succeed in a task that seems impossible?

Answer:

When a task seems impossible, do not be disheartened. Persistent

efforts will help you to achieve greatness.                    (Couplet – 611)                                  

அருமை உடைத்தென்று அசாவாமை வேண்டும்

பெருமை முயற்சி தரும்.                                         (குறள் – 611)

 

Explanation:

When Thomas Alva Edison (1847 – 1931) was a young boy, he was told by his teachers that he was too stupid to learn anything and was sent home. He was homeschooled by his mother. He never had formal schooling. He was deaf in one ear and could not hear well in the other ear. Despite these disadvantages, he became an entrepreneur in his early years and was very fond of experimenting and coming up with his own inventions. He worked tirelessly with great persistence. In his attempts to invent the electric bulb, he met with failures more than 14,000 times and finally succeeded. Eventually, Edison went on to hold more than 1,000 patents for his inventions. Edison is now known as one of the most successful inventors who ever lived, and his creations changed the lives of billions of people. If he had thought of giving up, the world would not have benefited from his inventions.

 

Albert  Einstein, whose name is synonymous with intelligence, did not start speaking until he was seven and was thought to be mentally handicapped. But he never gave up, and his persistence led to the invention of the theory of relativity. He went on to win the Nobel prize and altered the world’s approach to physics.

Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the USA, did not have formal schooling. He self-taught himself. He met with several setbacks and failures in his business attempts. He took failures in his stride. Undeterred, Lincoln marched into the political realm, where he launched several failed runs at political offices before his ascendance to President. He is said to have mentioned, “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.” So, according to Lincoln, failures are part of life, and one should persistently continue to work towards one’s goal without being discouraged. This is precisely what Valluvar says in Couplet 611.

In addition to those mentioned above, countless number of other people have realized their dreams by setting proper goals and working with unwavering persistence to overcome formidable adversities. The biographies of these successful people and others like them confirm Valluvar’s belief that adversities can be overcome by perseverance and success can be achieved.