Perseverance Pep Talk!

You’ve been working and working towards you dreams and goals but just recently things seem to have slowed and the visible results you’d previously been seeing are now blending into the everyday. You’ve lost track of your achievements to date and instead you’ve become consumed with the fact that you’ve plateaued, or worse, started to regress. Your motivation is waning and frustration is setting in.

Sound familiar? It happens to us all unfortunately.

But these are the times when we need to muster all the strength we possibly can, plus more, and just keep going. There are many stories of people who have given up on their dream literally a few paces away from the place that would have given them success and then, when they’ve let their dream go they hear of someone succeeding at their goal, in their place.

I have personal experience of this: I’ve always wanted to be a writer and have always wanted to publish a book (note – goal achieved, by the way!). However, sometimes when I’ve had an idea, I’ve subsequently failed to take action to bring the idea to life. There’s one such idea that sticks in my mind to this day, although it was many, many years ago that it occurred to me.

It started with a chance conversation with a friend when I posed the idea that: wouldn’t it be strange if we were the only people who existed in our world. By this, I meant only “me” and that once I had passed out of view or contact with the person or people who inhabited my world in that moment, they would cease to be.

In some ways this is true. If you think of the saying ‘out of sight, out of mind’ this kind of encapsulates what I was thinking. In other words, nobody really exists except me and the interactions I create to inhabit my world!

If that doesn’t make much sense, stay with me…on with the story.

My friend wasn’t impressed with my supposition and told me that my view was arrogant in her opinion. The idea continued to tantalise me, but, after the conversation with my friend, I failed to take any further action effectively giving up on seeing what the idea could become…

Then, a few years later, The Truman Show was a huge hit on the big screen!

Once I saw the film, the similarities to what I’d been thinking really hit me. I’m not suggesting that I could have produced a film, but there may have been potential to run with the idea and write a book. But, instead I let it go completely.

This was an early lesson in learning to ignore other people’s opinions which serve only to create obstacles to progress, although it would be years before I actually fully learned the lesson! But it also highlights the importance of keeping with the plans and ideas you have and developing them to a satisfactory conclusion (satisfactory for you, not others, by the way).

Sometimes though, even when we feel that there’s just no way we can break through the obstacle that’s holding us back – whether that be our own frustration or lack of motivation, or obstacles placed there through unexpected circumstances, by keeping faith in ourselves and our ability to succeed, the help or solution we need will turn up.

It’s uncanny sometimes, but to quote one of my friends who assures me that “there are no coincidences”, the thing we need will appear at just the right time, as long as we remain on purpose. I’m sure you’ve experience this for yourself and can recall a time when something unexpected happens and helps you on your way.

The great thing is that once you pull past the obstacle, the road ahead will be clear and you will have a renewed sense of enthusiasm and energy and any time you’ve lost due to being stuck will suddenly be made up as you surge forward with this renewed energy.

Think about this for a moment, because it’s really important when we’re on the journey. Recall a time when this has happened to you, a time when you felt stuck and demotivated because of it. But somehow you forced yourself to take action and the answer you needed was made known to you. You took an unexpected step forward and left the obstacle in your wake.

How did you feel? Energised and re-motivated? This is the feeling you need to muster now as you trudge through your mental quagmire. Remember the difficulties you experienced as you fought your way through your obstruction and the elation you felt as you broke free. Harness this emotion and use it now to catapult you toward success.

We all need little tricks like this on the success journey. Whether we’re training for a marathon, writing a book, painting a masterpiece, trying to get a new venture off the ground or redecorating the house!

But in the end, we already know this. In fact keeping with the journey is probably the most difficult thing we must do in order to reach our planned outcome. Most people give up and return to their ordinary lives, but, if you’ve always desired more, then in the words of Newt Gingrich, get ready, get up and keep going because…

“Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.”

…and this is the stuff which will make you stand out from the crowd.

Good luck and keep on keeping on!

Is perseverance your strength or weakness?  Share any tricks or problems and let’s help each other!

Photo: George Hodan