In this article we examine three ways how to persevere.
Normandy Beach
"...we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
You may have heard the saying ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going’. In other words, they persevere (or persist).
Perseverance (or persistence) is one of those life skills or traits that will serve you well throughout life.
We all face challenges on a regular basis and have times in our lives when it’s important to be able to persevere.
However, it’s not something you want to practice only when the going gets tough.
Instead, it’s something you want to work on regularly - like working out to build your muscles - so you’re good at persevering when you hit a rough patch.
Is There Desire?
As Napoleon Hill said in ‘Think and Grow Rich’:
“Weak desires bring weak results”.
If your desire is weak and your heart is not in it, you probably won’t last the distance.
Make sure your desire is strong or you will not succeed. In other words, you must have a definite goal or purpose that underlies you activities.
Here are 3 ways that will help you to persevere and persist. If you practice them each day with regularity, it will be like building up your muscles for strength.
1. How To Persevere : Establish A Routine
A great way to get in the habit of perseverance is to start with a few simple tasks and then practicing them daily.
This is otherwise known as getting into a routine. Think about your day and your week and the tasks you have to do regularly.
This could be at work or at home, or even better, both. Come up with a regular routine and get in the habit of following it without fail.
Not only will it be great practice for perseverance, it will also make your life easier and help you get more done.
2. How To Persevere: Make A To-Do List
For anything that doesn’t fall into your daily and weekly routines, create to-do lists.
Start the night before and list anything and everything you need to get done the next day.
Add to your list throughout the day as needed and cross off the things you get done.
Do what you can to get through your list each day.
While finishing each task on your list isn’t always an option, don’t get in the habit of putting things off just because you don’t feel like doing them.
Get done what you can and transfer the rest to tomorrow’s list.
3. How To Persevere : Exercise Daily
Everyone knows they should exercise regularly. It’s just another great reason to motivate you to get it done.
Use the habit of getting some form of exercise each day as an “exercise” (pun intended) in order to persevere.
It’s a great way to multi-task and accomplish two important things at once.
As an added bonus the exercise will help reduce stress and increase your focus to get through your routine and your daily to-do list.
As with almost anything else in life, practice makes perfect.
You don’t want to find yourself in a position of needing to know how to persevere. Instead practice now, get good at it and you’ll be ready for whatever life throws at you.
As an added bonus you’ll find yourself living a fuller and more satisfying life and of course all that daily exercise is good for your health too. If that’s not a win-win situation, I don’t know what is.