Failure is the frame, not the picture.
As true as it is that nature can't draw a straight line — we love to measure things on charts. It gives us a sense of position, showing us something that needs improving or has improved.
We are comforted by lines going up and panicked by lines going down.
What we often neglect is the frame in which we're viewing things.
While zooming out will sometimes reveal you are completely wasting your time, it may also deliver the perspective required to keep going. Both are extremely useful.
We only need enough information to understand the trend and to what degree we have control over it in order to make better decisions.