The Power of Persistence

The first quarter of the year is now history. If you’ve set goals at the start of the New Year, by this time, you should have your resources in place and a plan of action underway. You may even have gained momentum on the tasks and projects necessary to achieve your goals. Maybe you've had to make some difficult business or personal decisions to accomplish what you want. You may have second-guessed some decisions or you may have made them with utter confidence.

It's fitting at this point to recognize the importance and power of persistence. It’s become the theme of my newsletter and much of my training and articles lately. I believe in the power of staying true to a course of action that gets me closer to my biggest goals.

Persistence is something that you, and you alone, can control. The best view on persistence that I've come across originated from the 30th United States President, Calvin Coolidge. He believed not talent, nor genius, nor education, could take the place of persistence.

Read what President Coolidge had to say about Persistence.

Be careful not to confuse a stubborn regimen with persistence. Insanity has been defined as "repeating the same behavior and expecting different results". Having a strict regimen with a schedule and structure can be a key component to success in life. But it is critical to keep the goal in sight and know whether or not you're making progress. If you're not making progress, ask why not?

Keeping the same persistence toward your goal while adjusting the tasks that are part of the schedule and regimen can be most effective. Do not fall victim to the definition of “insanity”. Persistence in the absence of logic and adaptability can keep you in an endless loop to no where.

--- Five Tips to Persist ---

1. Know What Drives You. If you're not intrinsically driven toward your goal, then you won't have enough desire to achieve it. When it's something you really want, you'll work extremely hard to get it.
2. Create New Habits. Routines are great, but habits are better when it comes to achieving your goals. Acquiring new behavior patterns to the point that they become almost involuntary will help you live and breathe your goals.
3. Make it Public. Let your friends, family and even colleagues in on one of your goals. The more people know about your goals, the harder you'll work to reach them.
4. Keep Score. Measure and track your progress as frequently as necessary to see results. When you see you're moving a little closer toward your desired goal, you should feel confident and excited.
5. Reward Your Progress. Reinforce your actions with small rewards for each task, or every three tasks, that you complete toward your larger goal. A night out to dinner, a magazine, a trip to the beach or anything that you find personally rewarding will do

Persistence:
"To continue steadfastily in pursuit of a mission"; "dogged"; stubbornly unyielding; "dour determination"