Quote of the Day: William Edward Hickson on Life & Wisdom

Notice the word again. Not “harder”, not “better”, not even “tomorrow”. Again is smaller, humbler, and more powerful. It assumes the first attempt may fail without making failure the headline. William Edward Hickson understood that the real battle is rarely talent; it is the moment after disappointment, when pride wants to retreat. “If at first you don't succeed, try, try again” survives because that final word keeps the door open.

There is practical wisdom in that music. “Try, try again” sounds less like a lecture and more like a rhythm you can carry into an ordinary day: the email you need to rewrite, the conversation you need to restart, the habit you broke on Wednesday and can resume on Friday. Hickson’s line came from a culture obsessed with self-improvement, where character was thought to be built through repetition. That idea can become harsh if taken too far, but it also contains a truth worth keeping: progress often belongs to the person who stays in motion.

The useful correction for modern readers is this: trying again does not mean repeating mindlessly. It means returning with one adjustment, one lesson, one ounce more resilience. Failure is not always a verdict; often it is information. When you treat setbacks as rehearsal instead of identity, you protect your energy, sharpen your judgment, and make success more likely precisely because you stop worshiping perfection.

William Edward Hickson was more than a memorable phrase-maker; he was a 19th-century British writer, educational reformer, and editor who devoted much of his work to improving how children learned and how citizens were formed. His words carry weight because they were shaped by a life spent thinking seriously about moral growth, habit, and the everyday discipline of becoming better.

So today, choose one stalled thing and give it one more honest attempt: revise the first paragraph, make the second phone call, take the ten-minute walk, reopen the plan you abandoned. Let again be your advantage, and go forward with steady heart.