“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
Calvin Coolidge
Most people already know that a great deal of persistence is required to reach any goal of major significance whether it be business related, financial or even athletic (just check out the regimen of an Olympian…they breathe persistence). When you have a DMP (Definite Major Purpose) that has been designed around your core passions in life, persistence becomes less of an effort’ and more of a natural state of being.
I mean, if you are working on a really big goal that is completely aligned with your passions and values, you are going to have no problem going back to work, day after day, until your dream has been realized.
On the flip side of the coin, if you are working on a goal to please someone else or for some other superficial reason, your ability to persist and see that goal through to completion can become incredibly burdensome and even downright depressing.
Enough about depressing goals, you are here because you are excited about life and excited about your goals and dreams… so let’s continue.
If you think back to the previous lesson we talked about the idea of interrupting the pattern of self-limiting thinking and replacing it with new, empowering thoughts. While thinking a new thought may seem natural in a moment of inspiration, your negative thought patterns have been developing themselves year after year and have buried themselves firmly within your subconscious mind.
You are likely going to experience your mind wanting to revert back to this state. In order to ensure you overcome this trap, consider the following idea…
Through the act of persistence, you can begin to monitor your REACTIONS towards life as you go about your day-to-day experience. Your REACTIONS are a direct translation of the type of thoughts you are focusing on. If your reactions are moving you away from your goal, you now have the opportunity to use your personal perception to see the situation in a new light, and ultimately change your reaction to the event.
For example, let’s say you suffered an accident and tore your shoulder in the process. Perhaps your natural reaction would be to feel sorry for yourself and complain about your bad luck and all of the activities you will be missing as a result of the injury. Using your PERCEPTION, you could look at the situation with an opportunistic attitude and ask yourself, “Can I learn from this?” Or you might even ask, “How can I overcome this injury and use my recovery to inspire/ teach others to do the same?” (There is actually a guy on the internet who did this and turned his misfortune…into a FORTUNE!!)
Repeat this new way of thinking over and over again and the result is a new habit. As we all know, habits are tough to break and ultimately, our habits run our life. Let’s get the good habits working for us!
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