In This Quote I Found Solace during Burnout, and You Might Too

A while ago I burned out and I felt like a failure.

I held it together as long as I could, and in the end, biology won out over determination. That’s a bit like saying the tide won out over the sandcastle. Throughout this experience I held on to, and found a measure of peace in, this quote by Mary Anne Radmacher:

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, I’ll try again tomorrow.”

Courage Doesn’t Always Roar

Blockbuster movies are made about the hero, victorious after a valiant struggle, who laughed in the face of adversity (or at least grimaced cinematically).

We are bombarded with messages to push through, to persevere, to do whatever it takes to keep it together. And if you don’t, you are weak. We have become used to this narrative. As toxic perseverance crept into the Zeitgeist through advertising, social media, and movies, the extraordinary has become the expected norm.

The underdog who wins makes for a great story (and many likes), especially when pitted against overwhelming odds.

The hero who wins is worthy of celebration and adulation. The implied inverse remains unspoken. The one who buckles, cracks, collapses, is not worthy, and therefore deserves shame.

It’s particularly pernicious when this message comes from yourself.

I’ll Try Again Tomorrow

When the little voice is all you have left at the end of the day, saying, “I’ll try again tomorrow,” in the face of what you perceive to be overwhelming odds, is not resignation.

It is a statement of defiance.

It is a battle cry, wrapped in a prayer, uttered in a sigh.

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