“The most essential factor is persistence – the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come.” – James Whitcomb Riley

The power of persistence has the power to yield positive outcomes. Have you ever witnessed a child persistently nagging his mother to buy him something from the store?  She may have said no 20 times but the little child just kept persisting in his endeavour to get the desired object. He may have even begun whining or crying. Chances are the persistence paid off, because children just seem to know that persistence will pay off most of the time and mum and dad will give in if enough whining or crying occurs.

There is a power in persistence that can be used in negative ways (like the child) or positive ways. If you ask 100 highly successful business men and women how they got to where they are today, I bet all of them would list persistence as one of the characteristics that helped them become successful.

Persistence is powerful

Persistence means to persist, to keep going despite obstacles or setbacks, to continue moving forward no matter what. Persistence is a powerful force that can be harnessed toward your success. As you probably know, success just doesn’t fall into your lap; you have to take action toward success and like climbing a ladder, it takes forward action one step at a time.

Abraham Lincoln is a prime example of persistence in action. Known as one of the greatest presidents in history, Abraham lost 8 elections before he finally became president. He also lost his business twice and could have chalked himself up to being a loser, but he didn’t. He was persistent and believed he could achieve his dreams.

Another great example is the wonderful children’s writer, Dr. Seuss. His book, “And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street” was rejected by 27 publishers before finally getting a yes. Many people would have given up after a handful of rejections, but he persisted. Dr. Seuss went on to become one of the greatest children’s book writers around, selling more than 200 million copies of his books.

Persistence and passion

If you’re passionate about something, chances are you’re persistent in moving toward it. Do you have a goal of becoming a published author? Then you’ll have to be persistent in your writing and be able to persist even after you get 10 or 100 rejection letters for your article or book proposal. I’ve read about plenty of professional athletes, artists, business owners, etc.  that were faced with plenty of setbacks but were determined to be persistence and little by little they edged their way to success.

What is your passion?

Do you have a passion? Were you once passionate about something but have put it on the back burner because things weren’t going as fast as you’d liked? I admonish you to dig deep and rediscover the passions inside you and make a plan to go forward with persistence toward fulfilling them. It’s easier to give up on your dreams than to persist through disappointments and setbacks, but easy won’t fulfil you. A sense of ploughing through obstacles, fears and setbacks will fulfil you day in and day out. Knowing that you’re set on persisting through ANYTHING to get what you want is a very liberating feeling.

How to be persistent

Now that you understand that persistence is powerful and necessary, you might be wondering how you can incorporate it into your life. It’s not as difficult as you might think. Being persistent is basically committing to not giving up on your goals no matter what happens. It’s looking at whatever comes along your path and being determined to deal with it as best as you can so you can continue on your journey toward success.

Sometimes hurdles come and you’re not sure what to do. Know that it’s alright. When you don’t know what to do, simply do some research to learn how you can handle the situation. There are tools and resources that you can use to learn how to handle different things in life, as well as people who have already faced whatever it is you’re dealing with.

Have you come to a halt in your forward progress? Talk to someone else who has been there and get some advice. Are you extremely frustrated or have you given up? Look at your problems in a different perspective, go to a seminar or hire a Life Coach to breathe some new life and dreams into you. Sometimes all it takes is sharing your frustration with someone else to gain fresh insights and revelations.

You can learn to harness the power of persistence to achieve your goals and dreams. Adopt an “I can do it no matter what!” attitude and see how your forward motion picks up speed. It might not always go as planned but you will move forward. Go ahead and give yourself permission to move forward, soaring on the power of persistence toward fulfilling your passions!

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Tony Fahkry

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