Stick with problems

A common trait of the greats? They don’t give up on problems. They stick with them.

A common trend I’ve seen when hearing about “the greats” is their ability to stay with problems longer than others.

Even if they can’t solve something right away, it’s constantly simmering in their mind. Like a pot that’s heating on a low flame, the ideas in their brain go through a million different collisions before they eventually boil over into a breakthrough.

Part of what made Einstein was just this. Not natural ability. Not genetics. Not some innate god-given talent or skill. Just sheer stamina when solving problems. Einstein himself said that “it's not that I'm so smart; it's just that I stay with problems longer”.

Hundreds of years before Einstein, Isaac Newton shared the same traits. While tackling a difficult problem, Newton would often lock himself in a room for days, barely eating or sleeping. He’d walk outside in a daze, lost in thought, forgetting where he wanted to go and eventually turning right back. Newton’s breakthrough on gravity may have happened when the apple fell, but you can be sure he was thinking about it constantly for the days and weeks prior.

There are stories of the same stamina and obsession with Picasso. His partner Françoise Gilot describes how “when he was painting, he would become totally inaccessible. The outside world ceased to exist”. He’d revisit unfinished paintings days or weeks later, constantly refining them until they feel “right”. Picasso felt that “inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”

This seems extreme, but it’s actually refreshing to hear because it’s something we can control.

When you’re solving something difficult, stick with it.

Don’t be discouraged if a solution doesn’t come up immediately. It might take hours, days or even weeks before the right answer surfaces itself. Try and change your state. Go workout. Go for a long walk. Meditate. Take a nap.

But keep the problem in the front of your mind at all times. Limit distractions. Limit splitting your focus.

And eventually, your apple will fall.