Have you ever gone on a run but fell short of how long you wanted to run? Have you ever tried pursuing an idea just to fall short of your goal? There are many situations in life in which we tend to give up when our end goal seems unattainable. Sometimes, our desired goal is either improbable or impossible to achieve due to a specific road block (although I do believe almost anything is possible). For all other cases, falling short of our goals originates from one single thing; lack of will power. So how do we break out of this shell and strengthen our will power? The answer lies within our 4th habit for success; perseverance.
Before reading any further, I’d highly recommend looking through the habits for success discussed in precious weeks in order to better your self today.
1. How to get rid of bad habits (here)
2. 1st habit for success: go-getter (here)
3. 2nd habit for success: prioritization (here)
4. 3rd habit for success: altruism (here)
Perseverance is defined by dictionary.com as “a steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement”. There are various moments in life where we just want to give up when the going gets tough. Along with being proactive, perseverance is the conditioning of our own will-power to help us keep moving forward, regardless of what gets in our way.
Quite often, we become discouraged by failure and our aspirations end up coming to a halt. Quite often, we come up short on a desired goal because we tell ourselves “we did enough”. With the many obstacles we face in this world today, how are we able to overcome daily adversities in order to stay atop the madness? We can quickly break down perseverance into 3 steps.
First, think of will-power as a muscle. In order to get stronger you must train your will-power each and every single day. By being active and productive, your will-power will increase. Simply start by prioritizing what is important that needs to get done. Instead of thinking “I have time to do this later”, just do it right there and then. Instead of watching TV or taking a nap at the middle of the day, try reading books and articles or working out. As your will-power becomes stronger, you begin to accomplish more every single day.
Second, you need to believe in yourself (as cliché as this sounds). Will-power can come a long way, but if you don’t believe in yourself from the start, you have already counted yourself out. Always believe that you can and that you will succeed one way or another, regardless of what may come at you. Start by setting little goals, like reaching a certain weight if you are on a diet, or getting a certain grade in your class. By first achieving little goals, we begin to believe in ourselves more and more, which paves a roadway for bigger goals to get accomplished.
Lastly, you need to always stay humble. If you become satisfied with what you have already accomplished, the passion and will-power will dissipate. Staying humble is being able to take an extra step further after you have already given it your all. Think about it this way, there are 9 billion people in this world, so AT LEAST 1 person is trying to one-up you. Never settle.
Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and is now the greatest player to ever play basketball. Mark Cuban had to live at his friend’s apartment floor because he had no money to afford rent, and is now a renowned billionaire. Thomas Edison failed over 1000 times before finally creating the world’s first light bulb. Simply put, perseverance is about getting back on your feet whenever you get knocked down, and persistently putting in as much effort as you can, in order to achieve endless results.
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