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Persistence
     Today you will encounter countless opportunities to quit. It might be that a business proposal you hoped would come through will fizzle. You might have an argument with your spouse. You might lose an investment. Disaster might knock on your door any one of a thousand different ways.  The only question is what you are going to do about it.
     Will you pick up your marbles, go home and declare that the game is unfair? Will you believe that you must just not be meant for success — that you are a loser that can’t get a break?  Or will you decide to persist in your struggle, educate yourself and seek the answers you need?
     It is impossible to succeed without developing the discipline of persistence.  Persistence is the voice that commands you forward when everything inside screams at you to quit. It is the tenacity you need to see a project to the end.  It is the immovable resolve that causes you to follow through. 
     Everyone has desire; few have persistence.  In any given endeavor, much of your competition will be eliminated simply because they did not persist.
     How many people begin an exercise regimen only to abandon it after a few months?  How many people begin to change their diet, learn a foreign language or save some money, only to give up when it becomes difficult?  How many people read a book, apply its principles for a few weeks and slip back into the same old mental ruts? 
     So, how does one develop persistence? 
     First, choose which efforts or actions are worth continuing.  Is there a reward if you persist?  There is no value or virtue in persisting in an action that will only bring harm.  Who would do such a thing, you ask?
     How many people are, at this very moment, in destructive and dangerous relationships simply because they feel if they just wait a little longer, it will get better?  How many people are in dead-end jobs because they believe it’s not right to quit a job?
     After you determine that persisting in an action is worth your effort, decide to continue.  It’s that simple.  When you eliminate the option of quitting, it makes persisting much easier. 
     Easier, but never easy.  Sometimes persistence is a daily decision; sometimes it’s hourly.  But it’s important to remember that persistence is a habit that can be learned.  As you develop the trait of persistence, you will unlearn the tendency to quit and find it natural to continue.
     Deep within you, buried far down in your soul, is an iron will, a piece of steel that you can access anytime you reach deep enough.  It will lend you the strength to persist until you are victorious.  Harden your will.  Strengthen your resolve.  Put one foot in front of the other until you have conquered.
     © 2004 Charles Marshall. Charles Marshall is a motivational speaker, motivational author and president of M Power Resources, LLC. Visit his Web site at www.MPowerResources.com or contact him via e-mail at charles@MPowerResources.com.