Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve problems of the human race." Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States of America
I think Cal is on to something.
I came across this quote on a friend's Facebook page last week and it jumped off the page and into my heart. I agree, I concur - this is ON POINT!
Dictionary says persistence - is the state or quality of being persistent. Persistent is defined as:
A. existing for a long or longer than usual time or continuously - contiuning without change in function or structure
B. continuing to exist despite interference or treatment
We've all heard the cliches like "anything worth having is worth waiting/working for". But how do we measure up with regards to persistence?
As humans - I'm thinking we stink at this.
Persistence and waiting seem like they are mutually exclusive (and I will do a post on waiting - actively waiting later this week) but they are not.
When we wait - we wait with confident expectation that something is going to happen. Something is going to change or be different.
When we perservere (which is the active verb related to persistence alongside steadfast) - we 'press on' in confident expectation of what we are pursuing. We expect fruits from our pursuit.
So why is it then, that people so readily give up and move on to the next thing?
My theory to correct this phenomenon is this...
We must know how to discern what is worth perservering.
We must build the muscles within us to do the work necessary to perservere until the finish.
We must not allow ourselves to be distracted by the temporal things the flutter in and out of our lives - we must focus on things that are eternal such as character building, love investments and true connections with people.
We must allow ourselves to mourn losses properly - even little ones along the way. This authentic recognition of our state of being powers us forward - denial of any kind inhibits progress.
I am convinced that the tears we cry during our "persistence" seasons of life actually nurture and grow the seeds of what we want beneath the ground we stand on.
So today - where ever you are in your journey - I urge you to PRESS ON in the conviction that you are not working/waiting in vain.
Also, know that there are many others working/waiting alongside you. Including me.
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ReplyDeleteDenise,
ReplyDeleteThank you so so much for inviting me to read your fabulous blog post. Sometimes I often feel that I am alone in my journey, so it is nice to hear that I am not. Throughout my life, it has become quite evident that life is indeed a journey, and not a guided tour. My life has been filled with things so far that I have been faced with to "press on".
I decided to write the word "perseverance" on my page today because of a wall hanging that is in my father's office. It feature's Abe Lincoln and has a short story written about his life, and the failure's that he overcame and perservered until he was elected president.
Today, my father fights an uncurable and rare type of cancer. He was diagnosed in September of 2008, and at this time, not only was the diagnosis and "fight" given to him, it was given to all of us, as my family is "fighting" the cancer together as a team. We are thankful to be together and are very happy for our situation. The doctors can not believe my father is still in such amazing shape, and that he is still living, and as a family we are so grateful to be able to be battling together. We are high spirited, hopeful, and determined.
God Bless You Denise :)
-b-