Perseverance. Where did that word come from, anyway? Its roots are found in Latin, where it can be interpreted to mean to ‘abide by strictly.’ You can persevere if you continue in your course of action, even in the face of difficulty, or with little or no prospect of success. It’s the stuff of epic stories.
But how do you stay the course so you can celebrate perseverance? Things happen in everyday life that just make you want to crawl under a rock and hide. It becomes a challenge to stick out our heads and climb back into the world.
But we do. This is what perseverance is all about.
Perseverance is the determination to keep going. It is the trait of many successful people, and it must become a core part of your successful mindset. Regular exercise builds muscles. Perseverance builds character.
Just Do It
When you study the actions of people you believe embody success, you’ll discover that determination factors into many of their accomplishments. They created an overarching goal, and then they determined the steps necessary to get them there.
They met resistance. They encountered failure. They kept going.
Perseverance is defined by your ability to see a task through to completion. You’ll then either reap the rewards, or you’ll learn from the mistake.
Fear of Failure?
Developing your perseverance muscles doesn’t mean you’ll totally overcome the fear of failure. Back the analogy of exercise and muscles. You work out, and then the next day you’re sore. But you continue to work out because you know the muscle soreness is temporary, and it’s a sign of progress.
Failure most often is temporary, just as it is an opportunity to try a different approach for progress. Your successful mindset includes room for failure. The difference is how you look at it. Some temporary soreness that’s going to pay off in the long run builds perseverance.
Less Talk, More Action
Careless actions accomplish nothing. Constant actions based on thoughtfulness create momentum. The size of the accomplishment isn’t important. Forward movement is what matters.
Make a plan. Commit to it and observe your progress. You won’t always be moving in the right direction, but you will be moving. Ready for another comparison to exercise? You can spend 20 minutes debating whether to exercise for half an hour, or be 10 minutes away from completion. You don’t have to look hard to find that most obstacles are internal arguments.
A successful mindset isn’t a complex structure of rules. It does, however, require reducing the distractions that prevent you from taking action. The closer you follow the rules around these actions, the easier it is to move toward success.
Small, persistent steps. Pick your guidelines and abide by them. You’ll see progress, and you’ll create productive new habits. For a limited time, we’re offering a free eBook called The Successful Mindset Guidebook. It’s packed full of actionable advice on how you can generate a powerful outlook guided by perseverance. It’s full of information to help you develop and re-program your mind for success. Download it today, while it’s still available!
