"I refused to beat my head against stone, of course"

This quote by Herbert Lom suggests that he has actually been confronted with a challenging difficulty, however he is not going to waste his time and energy trying to solve it. He refuses to "beat his head versus stone," which suggests he recognizes that the job at hand is impossible or will just lead to frustration and failure. Rather, he seems to be looking for an alternative service or accepting that this particular obstacle is simply unworthy his time. This quote relates to the importance of recognizing when to ignore a scenario in order to protect mental and emotional well-being.