Through the Looking Glass: On Perseverance

I really need to get off my ass. In my quest for creative self-fulfillment, I’ve vowed to release a blog post once a week. If you’re reading this, I succeeded. Last week? Not so much. My ability to procrastinate, to find 7,422 other things to do other than my to-do list, is stellar. This morning as I sat down to write, I was distracted by a noise in the kitchen and before I knew it I had cooked a chicken, cleaned the bathtub, recruited some friends to help out on some upcoming events, ate a bag of M&Ms, ran an errand and took a nap. Now, some nine hours later, I find myself pondering perseverance and goal-setting (and goal reaching) and “What is it that makes some people forge ahead to accomplish what they want, no matter what? Why do some people push forward and keep moving towards success while others don’t?”

In Lee Coland’s March, 2015 article in Inc. titled “10 Things Most Persevering People Do,” Coland discusses the “Adherance Equation” that defines three success factors that high achievers practice. Check out the success factors, with 10 tips to help us all persevere:

Sharpen Your Focus

• Keep your goal visible at all time

• Worry wrecks your focus. Minimize your worry time and get to the action.

• Tame your technology. Just because your phone alerts you to a new message, you don’t have to answer it.

Build Your Competence

• Plan for two steps ahead.

• Create it once, use it many times.

• Ask the right questions

Ignite Your Passion

• Gravitate toward your dominant thought and move towards it

• Ask yourself each day, “did I do something today to make a positive, lasting impact?

• Do or do not. There is no “try.”

• You get what you expect. Expect the best.

I love these gems, and while it might be lofty (for me) to practice all 10 of them at once, I plan to bite off a few to get started with this week. Best of luck to YOU this week with your goals. Let me know how you do. I can be reached at alipat6@gmail.com. Thanks for reading.