by Karolyn Hart

Originally written for www.gwenthibeaux.com eNewsletter. Sign-up for Gwen’s eNewsletter here.

The dictionary describes perseverance as “continuing in a course of action without regard to discouragement, opposition or previous failure”.  Even the definition sounds inspiring as we think of the great heroes who succeeded against all odds, who didn’t stop even as they were failing and being beat down by numerous circumstances around them.

As we are inspired by such success stories we are filled with questions about these people including what gave them the strength, how did they know they would succeed, and where did they get their courage?

When you take the time to interview people about their perseverance stories what you discover is that every story is different.  For some people it’s not about strength or courage and they weren’t entirely sure they would succeed.  For some people it is simply that they are stubborn visionaries with a heavy case of tunnel vision.

While every person’s story is different they all have one thing in common – at some point they simply decided to keep going whether it was the first setback or the one hundredth.  It sounds over simplified but sometimes the greatest successes come down to a basic action.

Perseverance is in every respect, a simple action.  It is the choice to ignore all the obvious signs of failure and hold to the goal.  What makes it extraordinary is that the majority of people decide to pay more attention to the failures and negative voices around them then to stay focused on their goal. As a result these individuals throw in the towel when what they need to be doing is reaching for a fresh one.

As a person who has both thrown in the towel and persevered I can tell you that quitting is easier.  Deciding to stand completely alone is difficult and extremely lonely.  Determining in your life to stand for something no matter what means that you can guarantee to set yourself apart from the masses who will criticize your choices instead of providing support.

Now this is the part in the article where I, the author, am supposed to tell you it is worth it as you see your goals achieved.  Fortunately, what I am going to tell you is that it is worth it even if you don’t see your dream turn into reality.  Let’s face it, we all know people who are in the midst of persevering.  In fact, it’s been twenty plus years for some and they are still not stopping.  The question is why do they continue?

The secret lies not in the ultimate achievement of goals but in what I call the “pillow factor”.  It’s the ability to put your head on your pillow every night knowing that if you don’t wake up in the morning you won’t have regrets.  You won’t look back on your life and think ‘If I had only…’ because you know without hesitation that you have given it your all.

This is the joy of persevering that comes from deciding to continue no matter what.  The good news is that it is a gift you receive at the end of every day.  So make that decision to not give up, to give it one last push, and to take just one more step.  Either way you are going to be rewarded!

On that note..I’m off to make another phone call in the pursuit of my dream. Don’t worry about me, I’m still relatively new in this pursuit. It’s only been five years and the way I see it I have another fifteen years of daily gifts coming my way before I catch up with some of the great pursuers I know!

Filed under: Author Karolyn, Life