At the time, it was mostly self-encouragement: “The key to winning numbers games is to not care about the numbers,” I told myself. Now that that particular chapter—the one of me applying for jobs—is closed for the time being, I can say I was right. I wrote the post when I had sent out 45 applications. It took 52 more to get a job, and I sent plenty of spares beyond those.
It’s not that racking up effort numbers isn’t impressive. It’s draining at times and comes with real sacrifice. But even when you know you’re playing a numbers game, worrying about the numbers slows you down. It also tends to create more worry, which, if it spirals, can stop your progress completely for months at a time or, worse, get you to leave the playing field altogether.
While you’re cycling through at bat after at bat, the most productive attitude is to pretend the numbers don’t exist at all. Many posts on this blog are just that: encouragement to keep going, odds be damned. Sometimes, I think if the blog did nothing else each day, it would still be enough. This week’s posts were an homage to that idea. So yes:
Keep trying, not score. If the game you’re playing is fun enough, you’ll win no matter what the numbers say in the end.
