I admire your tenacity.

This sentence was a lifeline when it arrived in my inbox a few years ago. This was a perspective, which I had not considered at a time when I felt like I was flailing around in emotionally exhausting waves at work.  I was learning (not so gracefully) to get used to argument and criticism.  I was also testing a technically challenging product developed by multiple teams.  It was important to get to market quickly without major quality issues, however testability and supportability were not-so-great, so pinpointing bugs was tough and getting to market was taking too long.

• Articulate and own your role.
• Articulate and evolve your strategy.
• Educate yourself  so that you can increase your capacity to do all of the above.

Those were the lessons from my “stick-with-it-Ness”  AHA moment.  Also, that sentence and these experiences  re-affirmed my commitment to and love for the work I was doing:

• Remain steadfast in your commitment to all of your stakeholders.
• Be grateful for whatever comes your way, especially if it makes you uncomfortable.  Doses of stress can be opportunities to strengthen your emotional muscles and to develop a repertoire of responses which is (at least) as nuanced as the problems you face. (Reference: Law of Requisite Variety).

Be tenacious in your testing, but also remember Rule # 6.  Don’t take yourself so dog-gone seriously. 🙂