Persistence is what allows a river to cut through a rock, not power.
Success is not something that is simply given to someone on a silver platter. The majority of people must face a multitude of obstacles and occasional unimaginable hardships before they can truly claim to be successful. Just like life, achieving our goals is also a journey full of challenges.
Merely setting goals is the initial step. The larger and more difficult part of the process involves pursuing our goals and seeing them to fruition. Merely acting and working is not sufficient if you're not wholly dedicated to the goal you aim to achieve.
As humans, our brains are naturally programmed to safeguard us from changes, hardships, and perceived threats. Hence, to persevere, we need to overcome this instinct, necessitating genuine resolve. Persistence, as we understand it, doesn't come naturally or easily to many of us.
Nonetheless, there are tested methods to strengthen our persistence ‘muscle'. It is an attribute worth nurturing and practising throughout our lives, particularly when we are striving for success and aiming to achieve our goals.
To maintain your resolve throughout a challenge and successfully attain your life goals, you should start (and continue) doing the following things.
Establish a Solid Purpose for Your Actions
You need to comprehend the reason behind your actions. Develop a strong ‘why' that can not only motivate you but also remind you daily to work towards your goals. Without a clear purpose and a compelling “why,” it is easy to procrastinate.
Train your mind to reject this and remove the option to procrastinate. This is only achievable when you are motivated by a compelling purpose for your actions. Be eager and passionate about achieving your goal; this will ensure you consistently move forward, irrespective of the circumstances.
Focus on a Definite Goal
Focus and persistence go hand in hand. Essentially, focus is a necessary condition for persistence. To become more persistent, you need to have focus and clarity about your goals. After all, it's hard to persevere when the target keeps changing.
Without a clear understanding of what we want, it's easy to lose momentum. It's also easy to get distracted and succumb to our weaknesses in this situation. Therefore, set clear goals to attain; this will significantly enhance your ability to persevere and achieve goals sequentially.
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Develop Positive Habits
Research reveals that 45% of daily behavior comprises habits. This suggests that success in achieving our aims lies in leveraging this. Our life mirrors our long-term habits. As Aristotle famously stated, “We are what we repeatedly do, excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
Persistence involves cultivating the ability and habit of focusing on our actions. If we can train ourselves to behave in ways that automatically make us more persistent, we will eventually achieve our goals. The key lies in our habits. Thus, take some time to assess which habits are contributing to your success, and which habits are hindering you daily.
Have Faith and Confidence in Yourself
Nurture a positive belief in yourself. Trust your abilities and acknowledge that you are sufficient. You possess what it takes to realize your dreams and make your goals a reality – don't ever doubt this. Without this positive self-esteem and confidence in yourself, achieving anything – small or big – is impossible.
If you have enough faith in yourself, you will not quit until you achieve what you intended to. The fact is, it's normal for us to have moments of doubt. However, achieving our life goals requires something more than luck, talent, or brute force.
Our positive mindset and belief that we can overcome anything will be our sole source of support during these moments. Have enough confidence in yourself to persevere, no matter the odds.
