Athlete Running Through Finish Line

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” Calvin Coolidge

One of my favorite sayings is, “there are no extraordinary people. There are only people who do extra ordinary things.” That saying means there are no super human people. We all wake up with funky breath, yucky eyes  and put our grown up undies on in the morning. The difference between successful people and regular folks is that successful people do the extra things that regular folks don’t. One of the extra ordinary things successful people do is stay persistent. They are persistent when they are winning and when they are losing. They are persistent in times of massive success and in times of great adversity.

“To make our way, we must have firm resolve, persistence, tenacity. We must gear ourselves to work hard all the way. We can never let up.” Ralph Bunche  

Many of us use various incidents in life to quit. Sometimes what we perceive as lack of time, a crisis or just when plain old life gets in the way we always find some reason to quit. Well, there are no quitters here. You have come too far. Here are five sure-fire ways to stay persistent:

  1. Write down your goals and read them every day until you have achieved them.
  2. Remember why you are working on your goal. What was the burning desire in you that caused you to have these goals in the first place? For example, let’s say you have switched to a healthy lifestyle. Did you do it because of your family’s medical history, your family, an illness or because just you deserved it? I want you to focus on the why.
  3. Understand that any pain, delay or unexpected event is only temporary. We win. We lose. That is  life. It will not last forever unless you decide to quit.
  4. If you make a mistake learn from it. Brush the dirt off your shoulders. We can’t change the past so don’t beat yourself over it. Dwelling on it will only make you miserable. The persistent don’t do pity parties. They learn from it and move on to the next task and so will you.
  5. Surround yourself with positive and uplifting people who will hold you accountable. Peer to peer influence is so important. When we want to quit it is always great to have someone who will tell you to keep going. It’s said that you are the sum of the five friends you surround yourself with. If you have negative friends get rid of them. If you don’t have any supportive friends or family join an online or offline peer group.

“Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.”  Gever Tulley

Stay persistent on your goal because after the rain the sun will eventually come. The only limit you have is the one you have placed on yourself. Think and be limitless.

Don’t forget to follow the 100 Days to a Brand New You Challenge here.

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