I was asked to speak a few minutes tonight on "where I get my persistence." I gladly responded,"Sure!" This gives me a chance to examine and learn from the process of answering the question.
My parents were blessed with a very good dose of persistence. At seventeen years of age, mother so wanted to get out of her environment, she fell in love and moved to New York from New Mexico by the time she was eighteen, to marry her twenty-five year old sweetheart who was the antithesis of every male figure in her life previously.
Father, as a young boy, so desired attending the protestant church in the next town, that even though his Polish Roman Catholic mother insisted on his presence each Sunday morning in mass, as soon as it was over he ran four miles to join his older sister singing the Pentecostal praises he so loved. He was persistent in his faith every single day, from those early times till the day he died at 84.
There are tales from the depression--what persistence it required of father's family even to survive! And frankly, tales of oppression--what persistence it took on mother's behalf for even a small portion of her talents and dreams to thrive! I believe we all have role models of persistence in varying degrees, some negative, positive, or more typically, both.
So where do I get my persistence right now?
From setting a goal that feels good to me.
It's that simple, and that profound. Once I have this goal in front of me, in my heart and in my head...everything else falls into place from there.
Tips about this goal:
1) It must feel good. It's not to make someone else feel good. If one attempts to be
persistent in order to make someone else feel good, it only works for a time. This doesn't
mean other people aren't beneficiaries--they absolutely are. It's not selfish. For instance I'm
quite sure Mother Teresa did not think to herself how terrible it might feel to serve the poorest
of the poor. I'm willing to bet her thoughts of doing it felt very good to her.
2) Believe 100% in the outcome. No reservations.
From there, persistence is enhanced by being open and responding to ideas the subconscious brings forth. One might think, "This is risky." However, one can literally
practice persistence. My subconscious may bring forth a seemingly wild or undeveloped idea to help me realize the dream. That's the time to say, "Yes, I am reaching this goal, so I'll jump in and learn what I need to learn by taking the next step!"
I believe it's easier to be persistent in what I do know, having exercised persistence in the face of the unknown. I wonder what was going through father's mind the
very first time he decided to cross the Communist (at that time) borders of Eastern Europe with a van load of supplies for Christian camps and churches? I wonder how mother felt
the very first time she decided to direct and produce a choral Christmas concert with American army families and German citizens together in the small German town which was home to the army base, even though she didn't speak German! Their faith in God girded their persistence in the face of the unknown. Then time and time again with repeated persistence they lived a lifetime of service.
While faith is absolutely key, how do we access this essence of our being to move forward?
Be still. Listen. I examine my ideas, gathering in from my environment, friends, strangers, family, and community. Then I look through the eyes of my realized goal, to see where each thought or idea might play a role in bringing it about.
Perhaps I miss something today because I'm tired, or tomorrow because I allow dwelling on a negative thought. Here's where the next step comes in--finding a vehicle of accountability and taking an action step daily.
For me right now, it's writing every day. Even though my current goal is a very physical one (competing in tower races as a stair climber), my vehicle of accountability is writing. It keeps me focused. It puts me in touch with my subconscious, readily going back and forth between conscious and subconscious with a rich exchange of thoughts, plans, improvements, reviews, innovations, reflections and possibilities. Further, it keeps me in touch with friends and community, creating yet another rich exchange. What does this for you?
For the next person, a vehicle of accountability might be a food diary, a daily gym appointment, a daily act of service, volunteering, or as in my brother's case this year--a commitment to writing one thank you note a day. It could be riding a bike each day, walking, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, a commitment to eating lunch outdoors, working on a short story each day because you've committed to submitting one a month for publication, thoroughly cleaning a 4ft. by 4ft. space in your home or garage daily, eating clean, eating raw, or declaring out loud every time you walk out the door, "I'm free!" Countless possibilities exist.
I need to build into my accountability the fact that others know my goal and observe me working toward it. This is the second most important factor for me personally. My persistence goes into
overdrive once I put my dream out there.
The number one most important factor though, is knowing how it feels to reach my goal. I build in little samples...to get the feeling started...and then I want more!
Like setting one foot in front of the other up those 80 flights of stairs in order to reach the top, I get my persistence from knowing how good it will feel to reach my goal, to realize a dream, as I set one foot in front of the other each day in order to get there.
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Marcia, I have to be sure to include a picture!
I found these in my archives today.
They are reminding me
to prepare some healthy
individual
snack packs.
Workouts
Pilates Solo session and cardio workout
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