You can use persistence in all aspects of life. Persistence is an intangible key that will bring reward while facing challenges in life.
A recent example is water damage I was experiencing in my apartment. I kept checking-in with my landlord and my problem was solved. In such situations, you can’t assume one phone call to your landlord will be enough.
For me, persistence is the yearning to continue until I get a desired result. I closely associate persistence to perseverance and endurance.
Why? It’s continuing to try even while experiencing adversity. Re-read the previous sentence.
When faced with hardship, continue to press on. Will it be easy? No, prepare to work through frustration. Prepare to work through pain. Will it be rewarding? Yes. Prepare to feel success; to find new-found confidence.
Working through hardships in life strengthens your character to face future adversity. Upon overcoming challenges, you’ll feel more confident when presented with future challenges, and you will see reward.
Think about what you enjoy to do. Persistence comes in handy for the following activities:
Finding a job – Keep your focus. Follow-up. Maintain a positive attitude. Continue to apply.
Fishing – Keep fishing when the fish stop biting
Hunting – Continue to hunt even if you don’t see the game you’re after
Working out/Sports – When you feel a side cramp coming on, keep running. Play hard the entire game, whether your team is losing or winning.
Graphic/web design – Software/coding can be stubborn, persistence is a way to feel those “aha” moments. Keep trying to bring your vision to life.
See a pattern? Keep and continue are used over again. No challenge, or any word similar to “challenge”, is a ticket to quit.
You see, being presented with a challenge means being presented with an opportunity. You can tell yourself to quit, or continue. Believe in yourself, your ability; and spark that curiosity to always try one more time. Will trying one more time accomplish what you started?
In life you’ll face opposition, difficulties, and failure. And to overcome these obstacles you must keep going. Persistence is key; add it to your keychain.
This is the second of a continuing series on discovering your intangible key chain.