Think back to the last time you tried to pick up a new skill. Maybe it was a foreign language, a musical instrument, or a programming language. Remember those first disorienting hours, staring at unfamiliar symbols, your fingers fumbling over the strings, strange sounds stumbling off your tongue? Did you feel clumsy, slow, or even hopeless?
I’ve been there more times than I care to admit. But here’s what keeps me going when floundering outside my comfort zone: Struggle isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s how our brains build new connections.
When we let ourselves grapple with confusion for minutes that feel like hours, we’re giving our minds the space to grow in ways we never would by searching for quick answers.
The longer you can endure that bumpy, uncomfortable ride, the further you’ll go.
How sticking with challenges supercharges your learning
We’ve all faced that problem or concept that just won’t click. The temptation to walk away and declare, “I’m not a math person” or “I’m just not cut out for this” can be strong. But what if the key to overcoming difficult learning challenges was simply a matter of persistence?
UC Berkeley professor Alan Schoenfeld has spent over 40 years studying how people learn. His experiments and observations point to a powerful conclusion:
Those who don’t give up quickly learn the best.
In one study, Schoenfeld recorded people from all backgrounds attempting to solve math problems. From nurses who hadn’t touched math in years to students who struggled with the subject, he found that with enough time and effort, nearly everyone was able to solve the problems or at least significantly improve their reasoning.
What counts as “enough time”?
Schoenfeld’s data revealed an interesting threshold: 20 minutes. This seems to be the minimum amount of struggle needed for our brains to really grapple with a concept and start building new neural pathways.
The problem is that many of us throw in the towel far sooner. When Schoenfeld surveyed high school students, he found their average persistence time was a mere two minutes before seeking help or giving up.
Some might wonder, what’s the harm in finding the answer quickly? Isn’t the point to get the right solution? Not quite. “The duration of your struggle is what truly makes a difference to your learning ability,” explains Schoenfeld. “When you try hard and fail, you build a sense of what’s going on. Finding the correct answer is just icing on the cake.”
Think of learning as training a muscle
When you lift weights, the greatest strengthening happens when you push your muscles to fatigue – that burning feeling is your tissues micro-tearing and rebuilding themselves stronger. Mental exertion operates on the same principle. Easy problems are like light reps; they might maintain your mental muscles but won’t lead to significant growth. It’s the problems that make you strain and struggle that truly build your intellectual capacity.
Many other studies support Schoenfeld’s findings:
How to build your persistence in learning?
Most importantly, treat challenges as opportunities to build new mental skills rather than threats to your self-image. Just as one tough weightlifting session doesn’t make or break your physique, a difficult learning experience doesn’t define your intelligence or aptitude. The more you can separate your performance from your identity, the more resilient you’ll become in the face of intellectual obstacles.
Next time you’re wrestling with a difficult concept, resist the urge to look for a quick fix. Instead, set a timer for 20 minutes and commit to sitting with the discomfort. Break the problem into smaller pieces, sketch out your thinking, and talk yourself through the steps, even if they lead to dead ends.
The longer you can linger in that liminal space between confusion and clarity, the more your mind will be primed to patch the holes in your understanding. And when you emerge on the other side, your knowledge will be hard-won. The confidence and resilience you’ll gain from this hard-fought understanding will serve you in your learning for years to come.
Go ahead and struggle. Resist the siren song of easy answers and shortcuts. Trust that your persistence will be rewarded with mental muscles strong enough to carry you through a lifetime of learning.