I’m completing a 19-week coding bootcamp for web development. Most mornings we have practice problems to test our knowledge. One of our instructors for this module always reminds us to work on our tenacity and work on the practice problems until the timer goes off, even if we aren’t sure what we’re doing. He’s seen students give up on assessment exams with plenty of time left and without putting anything in the solution box where they could perhaps get partial credit, and he wants us to get into the habit of not doing that. It’s a great skill to develop.
At the same time, because of LIFE, some people’s tenacity may be worn out that day/month/year. I’d like to remember whenever I am training people and even in my own self-talk to acknowledge that. People are people, not machines, and some people have had to overcome a lot of challenges already just to get there that day. Part of the problem with capitalism is it needs a hefty injection of humanity so it doesn’t become exploitation and burn people out. “Be tenacious!” without acknowledging some folks have had a lot more potholes and land mines in their path to get to the same point is unbalanced and leads to exploitation and burnout.