Do you consider yourself a persistent person? What fuels your determination to be persistent despite challenges and obstacles?
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The Importance of Persistence in Business
Persistence has played a significant role in the success of individuals down through the centuries. They refused to give up, even when others felt they should.
One of the persons who immediately comes to mind is Thomas Edison. It is said that he had 10,000 failures. This has not been proven. What we know for a fact, however, is that he had thousands of experiments that failed as he attempted to harness the power of the light bulb.
Although his experiments failed, Mr. Edison did not consider himself as a failure. Rather, he perceived failure as a learning opportunity. Every failed attempt was a chance to learn from the outcome, and apply the lessons learned.
A second person who comes to mind as one who demonstrated persistence is Michael Jordan. He was devastated when he was cut from his high school varsity team, yet he allowed that to propel him into improving his skills.
Michael said of himself,
I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.
He was not willing to give in to seeming failures.
Persistence Is a Valuable Quality
Of every virtue or value that we possess, persistence is an ingredient that features consistently in those who succeed, regardless of their area of success.
Top athletes persist. They keep their bodies in shape, growing in strength, and push their boundaries of endurance in a bid to set new records. It isn’t just apparent in athletes though.
If you pay attention, you may see this in evidence all around you every day.
Successful entrepreneurs may have struggled for years to achieve their goals, and it’s easy to believe that the positive results came overnight. Instead, they achieved their goal by sheer dint of persistence and an unwillingness to give up despite challenges and obstacles.
Their persistence makes me think of the Story of the Chinese Bamboo. Watch, listen and identify how the lessons the farmer learned apply whether you’re an entrepreneur, coach, professional, small business owner.
The Chinese Bamboo Story
Discouragement can come upon you when you feel as though you’re constantly striving for something yet the reality does not live up to the dream.
If you observe someone who is passionate about what they do, someone who achieves the goals they have set for themselves, then you are observing a person who is persistent. Their persistence is present daily, and nightly. They’re a realist who understands that life doesn’t always go the way you want it to the first time. It isn’t a 100-meter dash, rather it’s a marathon.
There is nothing better than looking at your list of goals and being able to tick something off as being done. There is nothing greater than being able to nod to a list of accomplishments and successes. Nothing feels more wondrous that tasting success.
Persistence and Optimism: Go Hand in Hand
Persistence and optimism go hand in hand. Persistent people understand that not everything will work out the way you want them to, but they are persistent and react optimistically.
When life is at its toughest points, your persistence will be fueled by your optimism. Persistence allows you to hold a belief that if you try hard enough, and go at it long enough, and that you are prepared to make adjustments as you progress, you will indeed achieve your goal. Persistence is grit, and optimism tells you to keep going because you will get there.
When you make it a practice to be persistent, you will have the mindset that challenges and obstacles will not deter you from achieving your goal. You’re willing to move ahead and learn from the lessons any ‘failures’ may bring. Avoid negative self-talk, and do not consider yourself a failure, even if you did not get the results you were expecting. Instead, use them to propel yourself to greater heights.
