The 3 Keys To Perseverance
My daughter Sophie is 14 years old and has been dancing since she was three. For all those years she has been working hard devoting hours of practice and rehearsal into her craft. Every year she sits for her tap exams and competes in the awards but she’s never won.
Yesterday, Sophie competed in the Silver Star Tap Awards and made it into the final. While we were waiting for the winners to be announced, I was holding my breath, crossing everything and hoping that this was going to be her year. And yes…..she won. She went up onto that stage with the biggest grin on her face and as a parent it was a proud moment. (You’ve got to hold onto these moments to even out the craziness that makes up 98% of parenthood!!)
Afterwards, she spoke to her tap teacher, Miss Julie to say thank you and Miss Julie said "You finally cracked it, Sophie!" Yes, she did and to me it was a wonderful reminder of the power of perseverance. A reminder of turning up week after week, year after year, rehearsing, practicing and having a goal that you don’t give up on.
A good dose of perseverance will allow you to:
make a decision and stick to it
cope with challenges and delays
say no to the distractions and the next shiny object
eliminate procrastination
keep up your energy and enthusiasm
achieve your goal
But it can be tough, right? Things can get hard, obstacles can get in your way and you can feel like giving up. When you feel like this, there are 3 things you can do to get back your perseverance:
Define your PASSION. You need to get clear on why you want to achieve the goal. Connect it with your personal values and your legacy. If you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, you'll get easily distracted and it will seem like too much hard work.
Make a PLAN. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. If you don’t chunk your goal into bite size pieces, you'll feel overwhelmed and want to throw in the towel. Make small milestones, achieve those, and celebrate them. This will keep up that energy and enthusiasm and keep you moving forward.
Connect with the right PEOPLE. Surround yourself with people who you can learn from; people who will challenge you and motivate you; people who will inspire you to keep going when times get tough.
"Perseverance is not a long race, it is many short races, one after the other."
- Walter Elliot.
What is the goal that you are working towards right now?
Are you passionate about what you are going to achieve?
Do you have a plan in place?
Have you got the right people surrounding you in order to succeed?
There are certainly times in my business when I feel like giving up, when it all seems too hard, when success doesn’t seem to be coming quickly enough. In those times, in order to keep persevering, I remember this famous Chinese Proverb:
"The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed."
What if you gave up today and success was just around the corner? Would you regret your decision?
If you’re passionate about your goal, make a plan, build your tribe, keep up the hard work and persevere.
You got this!
Midja x