Five ways to power up persistence

I’m in the thick of it now — A slew of work deadlines this week, some I’ve been working on for months. It will take focus, determination and drive to get it done so I’m thinking a lot about persistence and the things that keep us going. Here’s a greatest hit post on the topic. 

Perseverance. Determination. Persistence.

Any quality that keeps you going despite adversity and challenge is the difference between success and mediocrity. It’s also crucial when it comes to living our biggest lives and achieving our greatest goals. Here are five ways to persist and keep moving toward your goals.

Assess the goal. Make sure what you say you want is, truly what you want. Often our efforts flag when we are doing what we ought to do instead of what is meaningful to us. If you’re passionate about what you’re working on and moving toward, persistence isn’t all that hard to come by. Evaluate the goal, adapt, alter, change if need be and then keep going.


Align goal with your values. Make sure your working toward something that is consistent with what matters most to you. For example, the high value I put on freedom and independence made it easier to keep going as a freelancer even during the tough times because what I was spending my energy on was congruent with one of the things I valued most.


Take inspired action — everyday. It’s easy to feel discouraged when we’re not seeing any progress, yet, en route to any goals there are many times when it’s hard to sense movement. Each day, make sure you are taking at least one, conscious inspired action – something that moves you in a direct line toward your dream. Then, even on the slow days you’ll know you’re still moving toward.


Adopt a flex-thinking approach. The path toward our most important goals and even the goals themselves, often change and shift over time, must as our lives do. For example, my focus shifted from my work goals to more health-centric ones after my cancer scare. Allow room for that. Reevaluate your goals and the steps you’re taking toward them to make sure they are relevant and resonant in your life today. Be flexible in the different ways you can pursue a goal. There is rarely one right way to do anything, but if you’re willing to consider many alternatives and ideas you may even get to where you want to go faster.


Buy into the process. It isn’t all about outcome here. Detach from the end goal and get into the process of moving toward it. The steps leading toward our ultimate objective are often critical. They show us what we need to know so that we can continue our success when we reach the outcome.

This is where learning and growth occurs. So, as you’re persisting, pay attention. The steps along the way to our goal are often more important than the end result.

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