The Power of Persistence

By Z. Hereford

I tend to write articles on concepts I want to understand better myself, so when the quality of persistence came to mind, I saw it as an opportunity to enhance my insights on the subject.

I begin with the ubiquitous quote by Calvin Coolidge which aptly sums up the quality of persistence:

"Nothing in the 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. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

The conventional definition of persistence is: "Refusing to give up or let go; persevering obstinately; firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition."

Is it any wonder then, that persistence is the fundamental difference between a successful outcome and a failed outcome? In that case, it behooves us to develop the vital quality of persistence.

Here are some tips on developing persistence or perseverance:

Tips on How to Develop Persistence

➢ Decide what you want to accomplish and set goals. We all know how important setting goals is for achieving success in any endeavor, so take some time to figure out what it is you want. Do you want to lose ten pounds, graduate from college, run a marathon or be a business success? In a study done in New York several years ago researchers surprisingly found that people who set clear, concise goals succeeded in achieving them 95% of the time! Interestingly, the one caveat or stipulation was that they only achieved their goals if they refused to quit and continued to bounce back from difficulties along the way.

Indeed, no significant feat has ever been accomplished without the trials and tribulations that go along with it. In his wonderful poem Don't Quit Edgar Albert Guest gives us plenty of inspiration and encouragement to forge ahead, particularly when the going gets tough. (Have a look at the poem: Don't Quit).

➢ Prepare for Obstacles and Setbacks. Know and accept that there will be obstacles and setbacks; then prepare for them. Nothing important was every accomplished without adversity, setbacks and difficulties to contend with along the way. Henry Ford went bankrupt three times before he managed to design his first automobile. As we all know and are grateful for, he subsequently succeeded to become one of the richest men in the world. He said: "Failure is merely an opportunity to more intelligently begin again.” Thomas Edison is said to have tried 10,000 times to create the light bulb before he succeeded. His attitude was: "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that don't work." Persistence is definitely the difference between a successful outcome and a failed one due to giving up.

One of the ways you can prepare for setbacks and obstacles is to anticipate potential problems and have a contingency plan. For example, if you're trying to lose weight, you must know that there will be occasions when it's not possible to stick to your weight loss regimen. In such cases, you will need to prepare alternative meals ahead of time or be mentally prepared to deviate from your regimen. Unfortunately, instead of allowing for and being prepared in such situations, many people give up entirely declaring it impossible to stick any diet. In doing so, they often sabotage all healthy eating and give up in despair.

Another example would be endeavoring to become a marathon runner and you fail on your first attempt at finishing a marathon. Should you give up and never try again? No, not at all! You would have to figure out where you may have miscalculated your fitness level, the type of food you ate and your training patterns. After doing some research to find out how improve, you would then give it another whirl!

Also keep in mind that when we are overwhelmed with a problem or difficulty, we don't have time then to develop the persistence necessary to deal with the particular obstacle or set back. However, if we plan in advance for life's inevitable ups and downs, we will be psychologically ready when they come upon us.

➢ Take the first step. You cannot persevere; much less succeed, if you never try to accomplish something. So many of us procrastinate, fear failure or are too frozen in our tracks to take the first step towards achievement. You will not fail if you don’t try something, however, you will never succeed either. As the popular saying goes, "The only real failure in life is the failure to try."

➢ Review, reevaluate and revise. If things do not work out the way you hoped then review the steps you took and the process you followed. Reevaluate by examining what went wrong and where. What didn't work? What could you have done better? Did you have all the necessary skills and tools? Your findings will be most illuminating, and in turn, allow you to set up a better, more comprehensive approach. You will revise and improve the current strategy.

➢ Garner support and encouragement. Stay away from naysayers; instead seek advice from those experienced in your field of endeavor and those who want you to succeed. They can assist you by making suggestions and recommendations based on their experience and expertise. You will still have to do the hard work, but there is nothing more encouraging than having positive reinforcement.

➢ Maintain focus. One of the obstacles to attaining success is losingmotivation and focus. A good way to maintain focus is to visualize yourself accomplishing your goal no matter what it takes. Vividly see yourself accomplishing your goal – keep your eye on the prize. Likewise, avoid getting caught up in negative or unproductive thinking such as, "This will never work." "I can't do this." Instead, keep inspiring slogans handy, pictures of those who have persevered in life, and whatever else will motivate and boost your drive.

➢ Enjoy! The greatest feelings of accomplishment derive from knowing you've overcome obstacles and conquered adversities to achieve your goals. Your ultimate success will be exponentially more satisfying and fulfilling when you know what it took to get there.

People who have persisted in spite of disabilities and obstacles:

• Ludwig van Beethoven (composer, pianist) became deaf at the age of 30 and composed most of his beloved works after he lost his hearing.
• Helen Keller (author) was deaf and blind from the age of 19 months. She wrote 12 books, various articles and was the first blind person to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree.
• Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder (musicians) both of whom are blind have achieved much in their genres of music.
• James Earl Jones (actor) known for his booming resonant voice was once a stutterer.
• Marlee Matlin (academy award-winning actress) is deaf.
• Itzhak Perlman (virtuoso concert violinist) has legs paralyzed from polio.
• Terry Fox (runner) was an amputee from cancer.

As you can see from the wonderful examples above, obstacles and adversity need not stop you from accomplishing great things. If anything, courageous persistence is the one quality more than any other that can guarantee success.
http://www.essentiallifeskills.net/persistence-perseverance.html

3 Mind Hacks To Boost Your Motivation

• Motivtion

by Chris Delaney - 

Image Credit | willis

The question I am always asked by the unmotivated is “how do others become motivated?” Motivation is created by both internal and external stimulus.

When motivated your energy levels increase, your interest in the task amplifies and your commitment to work towards your goals peaks. So, how can two people doing the same task have different motivational levels?

The reward for finishing a task is highly motivational, but this alone is not enough, as many people set goals with the reward in mind but never take action. The secret to motivation is knowing how to overcome personal procrastination to proactively take positive action.

Here are the 3 Mind Hacks To Boost Your Motivation:

Mind Hack #1: Trick the mind

The brain is a complex muscle that solves complex mathematical problems, creates innovative ideas that have put humans on the moon, invented the internet which changed the way we live and the mind gave us the intelligence to cure serious diseases saving countless lives.  But the mind can be tricked

Read this statement out loud; “I Love London In The The Summer Time”

Did you notice the double use of word “the?” Most who read this didn’t. This same psychology can be used to trick the mind into Motivation: 

• Think of a task that you need to complete but procrastination has stopped you in your tracks

• When thinking about this goal, do you imagine how hard this task is, the amount of steps you have to take, and do you second guess how you will fail?

With a focus on the problems and pain of the goal, your mind magically deletes the positives, the potential fun and your optimistic outcome:

• Picture again, the negative images that stop you from taking action

• Push this image away from your mind’s eye so you can imagine seeing it in front of you

• Turn the image into a black and white picture (if your image plays like a movie pause the movie)

• Move the black and white further and future away from you so it becomes smaller and smaller, until it becomes a dot on the horizon

• Replace this image by imagining a large, coloured film. This film is you at your best, enjoying each step towards your goal and the film ends with you seeing you achieving your goal and the positive effect it has on your life

Mind Hack – Focusing on the positives deletes procrastination

“All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney

Mind Hack #2: Mind the steps

Over thinking the required steps to any goal creates stress. Research has shown that when you are stressed the brain actually shrinks in size. Keep the steps required to your goal simple and small as this becomes manageable and creates motivation. Over thinkers make an easy task complicated by predicting too many problems;

Goal – Get a haircut “first I need to decide which stylist I should attend. I could go to ‘Anne’s Hair’ but there is no parking nearby, which means I will need to walk, if it rains I will get wet and I haven’t got an umbrella, I could buy one but I have no cash, so I will have to drive to a cash machine. My car is running on empty so I need to fill up first, hmmm that takes me away for the stylist, but I can get cash out at the petrol station, even though the card machine at that petrol station swallowed my card last time I used it, which would mean ringing up the bank, I hate that, they keep you on the phone for an age, asking you loads of security questions that I can never remember the answer to……..”

Even reading this gives me a headache and she hasn’t even considered the other two stylists yet! Keep the steps to your goal to a minimum by stacking small task under one heading:

• Goal – Get a Haircut; Choose a stylist within walking distance of my house

• Book appointment

• Attend appointment on date

Mind Hack – Manageable tasks create motivation

Mind Hack #3: The innovative mind

When working towards a goal you can easily become stuck due to a mental block. The problem or barrier your goal requires you to overcome is de-motivating when you can’t find the solution.

Once inspired to achieve your goal you can easily fall into the trap of overthinking the barriers you come across:

• Problem that needs solving

• You ask “What’s the answer? What should I do? I should know this!”

This common action creates a mental block because your focus kills your creativity:

1. Re-ask the question from different perspectives as this will access your brains creativity
2. Close your eyes, take a deep breath and relax. In this state your subconscious will find the answer and you will have an “ah-ha” moment
3. Day dream as this allows your mind to focus on the motivation of your goal and will give you the solution, often in a metaphor form to your barrier

Mind Hack – Creativity solves the problem

http://addicted2success.com/motivation/3-mind-hacks-to-boost-your-motivation/

3 Unconventional Methods to Overcome Procrastination

Posted on July 7, 2015 by Dean Bokhari | CATEGORIES: featured, motivation, productivity tips, productivity tips, self improvement

“Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt” — William Shakespeare

We’ve all got our little reasons for procrastinating.

There’s this Dutch survey that says 95% of people are chronic procrastinators. I think the other 5% are liars. EVERYONE procrastinates sometimes. Some people are just better at containing it than others.

“How do I get over my bad habit of procrastination?”

That question–or some variation of it–is one of the most common queries about the topic of productivity. And, it’ll probably stay that way for another thousand years–or until we all become super productive trans-humanist robo-peeps–whichever comes first.

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We’ve all got our little reasons for procrastinating:

• “I’ve got this make-it-or-break-it project to work on right now. BUT FIRST, I’ve got to manually create an index in my Moleskine for all my blog post ideas.”
• “My taxes are due tomorrow. BUT FIRST, I should probably clean up the kitchen; it’s a total mess in here.”
• “I’ve gotta write and publish this article. BUT FIRST, let me catch up on some ‘House of Cards’ real quick.”

And it goes on and on. Until you find yourself and consciously decide to stop the train and get off in favor of what needs to get done RIGHT NOW.

Some of us can jump off the procrastination train and get to work immediately. The vast majority, however, end up flying into a shiny but non-essential task like a moth in a bright room. Next thing they know, they’ve totally lost track of what was supposed to have gotten done that day.

Any of the above sound familiar?

If yes, then stay with me because you, my friend, are about to learn some very unconventional (and super powerful) methods for getting over procrastination. Including a particularly interesting method that involves the power of — get ready for it — “positive procrastination.”

But we’ll talk more about that in tip #2. For now, let’s dive into the first method (before you decide to procrastinate on reading this article.)

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1. Never Be Prepared

Here’s an example of a reason I always used to come up with to rationalize my procrastination problem: “I’m a perfectionist” or, “it’s gotta be perfect.”

This, of course, was just a pretty way for me to avoid admitting my fear of failure. You and I know it’s never ever the perfect time or place to do something. Want to know how I overcame this problem?

• First, I realized that the biggest thing holding me back from accomplishing the things I wanted most out of life was my obsessive attachment to perfection.
• Next, I realized that the reason I called myself a “perfectionist” was because I was afraid of what might happen if I failed at something (what would they say?)
• Finally, I came to the realization that I can never be fully prepared for anything in life. But I can always be ready.

And that became my motto: “I’m never prepared, but I’m always ready.” Never prepared. Always ready. Same goes for you.

• METHOD #1: NEVER BE PREPARED (Be ready instead.)

The next two tips and “hacks” come from the habits of unintentional efficiency experts of the past.

*QUICK NOTE: Don’t procrastinate on reading this! No, you won’t “read this later.” All of us overestimate our capabilities. We commit to dinners and events three months from now, thinking that we’ll have more free time in March than we did in January. Does that ever happen? Not for me. At least not often enough. If you convince your brain that you’ll read this later, what will happen is this: it’ll just get buried along with that other pile of shit you tell yourself you’ll do later. But this is not shit. This is your life. You’re beautiful, totally awesome and meaningful life. Do not let your dependence on future time derail you from experiencing your life to the max. If nothing else has worked for you so far, this little list of tips will… Believe that and you’ve already won half the battle.

2. The Power of Positive Procrastination

Robert Benchley, a humorist and writer for The New Yorker, once wrote an essay in which he explained how he was able to develop the self-discipline to everything below in one sitting:

• Read a scientific article about tropical fish.
• Build a bookshelf.
• Arrange books on said shelf.
• Respond to a letter from a friend that had been sitting on his desk for 20 years.

According to Benchley, all he had to do was write up a to-do list for the week and put the aforementioned tasks *below* his *top* priority, which was to write an article.

In his words, Benchley wrote:

“The secret of my incredible energy and efficiency in getting work done is a simple one … The psychological principle is this: anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn’t the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment.”

Translation: procrastinators tend to avoid doing one task by doing another, and very rarely do they ever sit still.

• METHOD #2: USE THE POWER OF POSITIVE PROCRASTINATION. (Shoot for the moon, land amongst the stars.)

3. The Nothing Alternative

A novelist named Raymond Chandler pioneered “The Nothing Alternative” as a method of defense against procrastinating on his daily prose. Chandler couldn’t commit himself to cranking out 250 words every 15 minutes like writer Anthony Trollope. So he decided to literally wait around for inspiration to strike.

Personally, I find that inspiration never strikes while waiting around. Instead, I’ve found that inspiration strikes when I’ve cultivated a habit of consistency — to work, to write, to record — every single day. In the beginning, the work sucks a lot and often. But the more you do it, the better you become at it.

But this isn’t the kind of “waiting around” Raymond Chandler used to do. His method of “waiting around for inspiration” was to set aside four hours every morning and give himself an ultimatum: Write, or do nothing at all.

In his own words, Chandler said this about writers who suffer from procrastination:

“He [the writer] doesn’t have to write, and if he doesn’t feel like it, he shouldn’t try. He can look out of the window or stand on his head or writhe on the floor, but he is not to do any other positive thing, not read, write letters, glance at magazine, or write checks.”

[…]

“Write or nothing. It’s the same principle as keeping order in a school. If you make the pupils behave, they will learn something just to keep from being bored. I find it works. Two very simple rules, a. you don’t have to write.  b. you can’t do anything else. The rest comes of itself.” 

That’s The Nothing Alternative, right there, and you can use it for almost any task to make procrastination a problem of the past.

Your work might not be as simple and clearly defined as Chandler’s, but you can certainly benefit from the clarity that comes from setting aside the time to focus on your ONE most important thing.

This is your time to turn it up to high gear and focus.

To try this out for yourself, figure out your most important goal for tomorrow morning and set aside 90 minutes of totally uninterrupted time to focus on that goal. No email. No smartphone. No nonsense. No Facebook, either. Shut-down your wifi if you need to. This is your time to turn it up to high gear and focus.

• METHOD #3: USE THE NOTHING ALTERNATIVE. (Do or die.)

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Recap: 3 Unconventional Methods For Overcoming Procrastination

#1.  Never Be Prepared. 
(Be ready instead.)

#2.  Use The Power of Positive Procrastination. 
(Shoot for the moon, land amongst the stars.)

#3.  Use The Nothing Alternative. 
(Do or die.)

—http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/3-unconventional-methods-overcome-procrastination/