por What is the value of perseverance?
He value of perseverance It is the tendency of a person to continue in a particular activity that will allow him to fulfill a stated objective. Being persistent consists of overcoming a set of obstacles in order to reach a goal. Obstacles could include physical, psychological, cultural, critical, or discouragement barriers.
The word perseverance comes from the Latin perseverance and it means to stick to something strictly. If a person is doing something despite all the difficulties that it entails, he is being persevering and strict with himself.
Undoubtedly, perseverance is one of the characteristics of great historical women and men, and what has allowed them to achieve great individual, social, cultural, economic and scientific achievements.
How is a persevering person?
You are a persevering person if:
– You don’t give up easily.
– You keep trying to achieve a goal, even if you are not having the results you expected.
And if you’re persistent, you’ve probably made it one of your core values. If you give importance to not giving up and keep trying, you have turned it into a value.
Historical Examples of Perseverance
Probably nothing in the world can replace persistence. Talent is almost always outclassed by her, in fact, there are thousands of talented people who have achieved nothing.
Education and training, in themselves, require perseverance, as does practical experience. Here are some examples of perseverance from recent times:
walt disney
Without a doubt, Walt Disney was a very persevering person. Before he found success with Mickey Mouse, he was fired from a Kansas City newspaper because his boss thought he lacked creativity.
Later, in 1921, he failed in his attempt to form a company, which he called «Laugh-O-Gram Films.» In 1926, after creating an animated character called «Oswald the Rabbit», Universal Studios betrayed him and patented his creation.
Perhaps his greatest example of perseverance was when he struggled to adapt the film. Mary Poppins. Its author, Pamela Travers, had no interest in selling it and Walt Disney traveled to England for 16 years to visit and persuade her.
JK Rowling
She is one of the richest women in the world and is known worldwide for being the author of the Harry Potter saga. Before publishing her first book, Harry potter and the Philosopher’s Stonewas rejected by 12 publishers.
If he had given up sooner, the world might not know Harry Potter.
thomas edison
In his entire career, Edison obtained 1,093 patents. Some of his inventions were groundbreaking. Like the light bulb, the phonograph or the alkaline battery. However, most were unsuccessful. To try to make an inexpensive light bulb, he opened his own mining plant in Ogdensburg.
To make the plant work, he invented 47 patents, most notably a machine that revolutionized the cement industry and inspired Henry Ford’s T-Ford assembly line.
Examples of perseverance in everyday life
– When you are overweight and manage to lose the extra kilos by eating healthy and exercising.
– Get up early daily, as planned.
– Have healthy lifestyle habits: for example, drink 8 glasses of water a day.
– Read X number of books per month, that you have proposed.
– Improve grades at school or university.
Barriers to perseverance
Lack of motivation – vision
Not having vision often results in a lack of motivation.
To persevere you need motivation, and to have motivation you need to have a vision of what you want to achieve.
What you want to achieve has to be something that motivates you, not others.
The belief that everything has to be easy
Limiting beliefs are decisive when it comes to displaying any type of behavior.
The reality is that life alternates between moments without problems and when problems arise. If you have the expectation that things are going to be difficult, you will be much more willing to face and overcome problems that arise.
The belief that success is an event
Success is not an event. Successful people have not achieved their goals from one day to the next, but have gone through a long process.
Historic achievements were not events, they were processes. Rome wasn’t built in a day, it took years to get to the moon, civil rights have been achieved for decades.
The habit of giving up
Giving up is a habit, just like not giving up. Surely you have observed people who never give up and others who give up at the first difficulty.
Therefore, it is necessary to turn persistence into a rule, into a value that is given importance to guide oneself through life.
Ways to learn the value of perseverance
Perseverance is learned through practice, it is not something theoretical. You cannot say «I am persevering» and not put it into practice. You also can’t read about perseverance and not push yourself so that it becomes a part of you.
The following actions will help to develop perseverance:
1. Self-motivate
Motivation comes and goes, it is not something constant.
Goal setting, rewards, and often reminding yourself of the rewards of perseverance help to maintain it.
2. Define goals
Having clear goals is one way to guide behavior.
Also, if you define them clearly, you will know if you are persevering in achieving them or not.
3. With vicarious learning
Vicarious learning is learning that occurs by observing others. For example, you see how someone has achieved something and you continue on their way.
If you know close or popular cases of perseverance that led to success, it will be a motivation for you and a reason to try it too.
4. Maintain a balance
It is not possible to dedicate 100% of the time of your life in the achievement of a goal. You need to spend free time in which to have fun with something you like.
Moreover, that way you will be more productive, in addition to avoiding stress.
5. Make it a habit
Physical exercise or sport is one of the best ways to adopt perseverance. Also learn any physical or cognitive skills: dance, play musical instruments, speak languages.
Once you realize that you need to persist to get the reward (learn a skill, get in shape), you adopt that behavior.
6. Being around persevering people
If you see that someone close to you tends to quit, you will be more likely to quit. If someone very close does not give up, you will tend to follow their path.
For example, if you have a classmate who passes and doesn’t drop out, you’ll be more likely to follow his path.