“Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance.”
– Samuel Johnson
At the beginning of each new project or goal, we are fueled by the excitement of fresh ideas, driven by the adrenaline of a new adventure. As we get to work, each step forward is exciting. However, at some point in our journey, the initial excitement begins to fade and the work required to finish the task or accomplish the goal may seem daunting.
It is in these moments that we often find ourselves questioning what we’ve gotten ourselves into and whether or not it is worth continuing.
Take home-cleaning projects, for example. Have you ever found yourself ambitiously deciding to purge, clean and reorganize your basement, bedroom, or closet? You dive into the project with excitement, dreaming of the organizational possibilities and the relief you will feel when your living space is renewed and restored.
You put on your favorite cleaning music and begin pulling items off shelves and out of drawers, preparing to sort and organize. An hour into the process, you find yourself standing in a room surrounded by the items you’ve pulled out of their proper place and the idea of having to put everything back no longer seems exciting but rather overwhelming and tedious.
Sound familiar?
Regardless of the particular goal, these moments of overwhelm and lagging motivation will come. It’s the fifteenth mile of the marathon or the fourth week of healthy eating. These moments reveal which of us will be successful in achieving our goals, and which will not. The defining characteristic of a successful person is persistence.
“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed no hope at all.”
– Dale Carnegie
Persistence is the choice to continue doing something, despite obstacles and challenges. It’s the decision to keep moving forward when the excitement fades and the work required to accomplish your goals is formidable.
It’s at this precise moment we need to remind ourselves: Anything worth achieving requires sustained focus, effort, and work.
Businesses aren’t built overnight, marriages aren’t strengthened and renewed with one positive conversation, and weight isn’t lost after a single workout.
Authentic, meaningful, and important goals take time. They take effort. They require persistence.
Where do you stand on the persistence continuum?
Think about the times in your own life when you’ve pursued a goal. Did you accomplish the goal? Were you successful? How did you respond to challenges and obstacles that popped up along the journey? Are you the kind of person that meets challenges head-on and persists, or do you routinely find that your progress is halted when things are taking too long or require more work than you bargained for?
If you’re the kind of person that has pushed through the hardships, you understand well the importance of persistence. However, if you are a member of the greater majority who has given up the pursuit of your goals when “the going got tough”, don’t despair. Persistence is not a personality trait that some people have and others lack. You aren’t born with or without persistence. Persistence is a habit that we choose to form; a “muscle” we can strengthen.
We can and we should train ourselves to be persistent!
Steps for Growing in Persistence
- Set clear goals
Before beginning a project, think about your end goal. What are you trying to accomplish? What does success look like? In order to persist through challenging moments, it is important to have a clear and tangible vision of what you are working for so you can use this as motivation to continue. - Break large goals into smaller pieces
In working towards a long-term goal or project, it’s important to feel successful along the way. This can be accomplished when these large goals are broken down into smaller pieces. For example, if I begin training for a marathon, I know I am not ready to run 26 miles on my first day. I could, however, run 1 mile today and 1.5 miles tomorrow. This allows me to experience success and see tangible progress as I work towards my long-term, larger goal. - Celebrate progress
When you accomplish each smaller step or milestone, it’s important to take a moment to celebrate this progress. Acknowledge the hard work you’ve already put into achieving your goals. - Anticipate Obstacles
Challenges are inevitable. However, we often forget this reality and find ourselves knocked down and deterred in our progress by obstacles that have surprised us and caught us off guard. If you go into each project expecting to be challenged, you are less likely to be stalled when obstacles do appear, but rather will be mentally prepared to face and conquer each challenge. - Reflect and Revise
As you work towards any goal, it’s important to periodically take time to reflect on your progress and the challenges you are facing to evaluate the effectiveness of your strategies. Is your current plan of action helping you move forward? Are there actions you could take that would be more effective? Persistence does not mean stubbornly sticking to actions that aren’t working, but a dedication to finding the best way to accomplish a goal. Sometimes this means being open to tweaking or changing your action plan in order to move forward.
Hopefully, these steps have provided you with a tangible starting place for growing in persistence and ultimately achieving your goals. It is important to remember, however, growing in persistence is like strength training.
It’s an exercise for your character that takes times to build and regular work to maintain. Be patient with yourself as you work to grow and strengthen this important character trait.
“The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.”
― Thomas A. Edison
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Resources
https://medium.com/personal-growth/persist-it-matters-7e4270f7c078
https://www.essentiallifeskills.net/persistence-perseverance.html
