AmiSight 9/10: When Is It Time to Stop Pushing? Perseverance vs. Denial
I have an entrepreneurial quandary.
I spend a lot of time telling entrepreneurs about persistence. I share stories about some of the crazy things I have done—times when the odds looked terrible, and I just kept pushing until I found a way through the wall.
I believe in those stories. That mindset has served me incredibly well. Sometimes entrepreneurs need to hear that the answer isn’t necessarily no. You keep persevering, find another door, and refuse to quit.
But what about the other side?
Sometimes the wall is there for a reason. Sometimes the market is telling you something. Sometimes the smartest decision isn’t to push harder. It’s to shut it down, learn from it, and try something else.
That’s where I struggle with the advice I give.
The qualities we celebrate in entrepreneurs—grit, determination, optimism, and an almost irrational belief that we’ll figure things out—are the same qualities that can keep us hanging on too long.
So how do you know the difference between perseverance and denial?
Maybe the question is: Am I pushing through this wall because I still believe there’s something valuable on the other side, or because I can’t stand admitting this isn’t working?
I don’t always know the answer. But I am increasingly convinced that knowing when to stop takes just as much courage as knowing when to keep going.
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