Patience

For many young players and young people, discerning when to act and when to wait is one of the hardest lessons of strategy.  For example, the novice player is so eager to attack and claim victory, he plunges into his "routing" foe only to realize--too late--that he has fallen into the patient opponent's trap.  

In life, I am doing my best to be patient and while I search for my next career-continuing job.  I would say career-beginning, but I have been working towards this job for years now.  My days are consumed by searching, applying, networking, and waiting.  I have compared my hunt to fishing--putting hooks in the water and waiting for any bites.  

The catch with patience in life as in games is the possibility and probability of payoff.  To further the fishing metaphor, no amount of hooks and patience will catch a fish on dry land or an empty pond.  Unlike a metaphor, with obvious illustrations to carry the message, life and many games have imperfect information.

Like the "fog of war" in many games, many of life's opportunities and follies are shrouded by a fog of the unknown until burned away by the light of expended effort.  As we choose and try new efforts, we fail, succeed, and avoid follies and successes.

Of late, I have begun to wonder if my efforts at finding work are ever going to be successful.  I am beginning to feel that while I am not fishing on dry land, perhaps I am in a drying pool.  Hopefully one that is merely suffering from a prolonged drought.  Times these reveal the underlying requirement of patience--faith.  The strategy of patience requires faith that the chosen course is the right one.  Whether that faith is faith in yourself, God, or something else, you need enough to make it to what you believe the payoff will be.  I just hope there will be more than dust on my hooks soon.

End Turn.