The 100 Day Challenge, Day 85:
A cute book I have on my shelf is 7 Life Lesson’s from Noah’s Ark and #4 is called Don’t give up the ship: The Lesson of Perseverance. When I do thinking styles assessments with my new clients, this is the #1 strength I see most often among them. I have thought about this a lot and I think it says a lot about the person who is willing to put everything on the line, spend their time and money, who is willing to be uncomfortable, take risks and really go for it. This is the type of person I see coming into my coaching practice. They are already do well, and their perseverance strength pushes them to take it even higher. They enjoy the challenge, and will not give up even when the heat gets high! (which it always does at some point in the coaching process!)
Perseverance is a strength that you can learn. Yes, so people may come by it more instinctually, but anyone can take this strength on a their own. One of the keys to doing this is to be able to keep moving forward even when others doubt you, nay sayers pick at you, you experience failure, and/or no visible support around you. You learn to push forward in spite of these things. So many times I know I get excited about something and then I run into someone who totally talks it down. I am always tempted to give up the idea (or the ship!) based on someone else opinion. But I have learned to stop and analyze it for myself. Your experience does not necessarily equal mine or vice versa. That is not to say that input is not good, it can be very valuable, in fact it can cause you to stop and take that crucial time to examine why you should push ahead regardless. It can cause you to learn to listen to yourself.
For the next week, practice perseverance on purpose. Do it this way: every time you feel like quitting or giving up on something- anything- in the next week- FORCE yourself to keep going just one more step or just a little longer, or further. (unless it is harmful to you in any way). Test your muscle, see where you are at with this strength and make a plan to keep building it!