Perseverance: Success Mantra

Perseverance is a lowly virtue whereby mediocrity can achieve a glorious success.
---Ambrose Bierce

Romesh tried his hands at starting his transport business that failed ultimately. After re-evaluating his experience, he opened another transport business. Romesh has now chain of transport agencies across the country.

The moral of the anecdote is that one should continue with the vocation one is pursuing, and should not stop trying or making conscious efforts towards one’s pursuit. If you keep trying diligently, dedicatedly, and doggedly you are sure to achieve your goal against all vicissitudes. One never fails in one’s first attempt, and if one keeps trying. As a matter of fact, failure occurs when we quit or stop trying. Do you know what Romesh has which most of us don’t have. Romesh has perseverance – the determination to continue. According to the dictionary, perseverance is an act of persisting in a state, enterprise or undertaking in spite of counter influences, opposition or discouragement.

As it has always been, perseverance is the basic ingredient for success. After several attempts to make the electric light bulb, Thomas Edison said, “I haven’t failed, I’ve identified 10,000 ways that it doesn’t work.” There is an endless list of other great achievers, who found that success inevitably arrives for every person who perseveres.

You may find it difficult to acquire a job of your choice; or, you may find it difficult to succeeding at ventures that present volumes of difficulties. But it is part of the learning process. At the end of the day, people who persevere become successful. Those who earnestly learn from the mistakes committed eventually become successful.

Do you have the instinct to persevere? Or, do you quit or let it go after meeting rejection or difficulties? First, let’s have a quick test to evaluate your Perseverance Quotient. Rate yourself on a scale of one to three, one being low and three being high, on each of the following:

I believe in myself.
I have a fixed notion.
I deal with my limitations.
I pull through from disappointments.
I have the stamina to persist.
I am flexible enough and quickly get adapted to change.
I concentrate and complete assignments at hand.
My goals are consistent with my purpose and values.

Get a total of your scores. The higher your score, the more perseverant you are.


Now, somewhere you feel that you should have more perseverance than what you have at present. You want to be more persistent with your efforts. Of course, you need to work on it to move further in life. You need to imbibe more of perseverance within you to get success. Given are the rules to enhance perseverance within:

Identify your goal. Base it on your mission/passion, needs and abilities. You need to understand why you want your goal and how you and others will benefit.

Clarify your goal in the present. To clarify your goal , you need to write desired outcomes, what you want to accomplish from your targeted aim . In addition, you need to be detailed, specific, and positive.


Be determined to achieve. It is also essential to have the vigour to achieve your purpose, and you have to have determination to achieve it. To achieve your objective, you should outline strategies and timeline . In addition, you must be aware of your resources that can help you attain your ambition, such as people, associations and the Internet.


Develop support systems. You should meet regularly with positive, encouraging people who support your objective and celebrate your achievements. Select other sources of positive reinforcement such as books or tapes with uplifting themes.

Have productive attitudes and behaviors. Don’t dwell in the past, worry about what might happen or view yourself as a victim. Never succumb to negative thoughts.

Remain Optimist. Reinforce the positive in yourself and others. Expect good things. Watch self-talk. Replace negative thoughts or statements with positive ones. Acknowledge your accomplishments. Judge your accomplishments against personal standards of self-improvements. Live in the present.

Have the courage of your convictions. Don’t change for others or compare yourself with others. Develop the will to risk. Don’t worry about what might happen. Don’t fear mistakes and worst. View mistakes as opportunities to grow. Decide whether you could live with the worst or take steps to reduce the chance of it happening.

Reduce negative outcomes. For example, meet successful people who have achieved similar goals. Learn from their mistakes.

Keep a healthy lifestyle. Do care for you mind, body, emotions and spirit. Schedule quiet times to think and reassess. Practise some sort of stress relievers such as deep breathing, exercise, meditation. Get sufficient sleep, eat healthy. Take time for fun and friends.

So, persist with these activities and be focused. Keep in mind that with every “no” of defeat you’re closer to a “yes” of success. If you learn from set-backs and stay determined, success will follow. Every day, at regular intervals, ask yourself whether your activities are helping you attain you’re the ambition. Believe you’ll attain your goal. Just persevere, you can achieve the extraordinary.