My introduction to this poem was as a junior high student. It hung at the top of the chalkboard in the band room. The message was clear back then. If your tone isn’t as good as you would like, don’t quit. If you don’t play your instrument as well as those around you, don’t quit. If practice seems to be getting you nowhere, don’t quit.

Many years have passed since junior high. We understands frustrations are a fact of life. Hopefully, we also realize frustrations are temporary.

Our challenge goes further, however. To say, “Don’t quit” is one thing. To chart a course of action for what to do is another.

Is there an area of your life where you want to throw up your hands? You have two choices:

• Give up
• Dig in

The second choice is obviously the best. But what does “dig in” look like? If you were to stop reading right now and start acting on that thing which is at the source of your frustration, exactly what would we see you doing? If the answer is not clear, what could you do to achieve clarity? Most importantly, why not start right now?