Six offerings to broaden your understanding of perseverance -Who dares Perseveres

As a young man in his late 20’s I studied for a science degree at the Victoria University. At the same time I elected to complete a minor in Engineering Maths which presented as a ‘bit of a stretch’ for me at the time - I hadn’t done anything mathematical (with the exception of using simultaneous equations to solve the riddle in the Sunday paper) since 4th Form (Year 10) at high school.

Statesman Winston Churchill

Midway through my study I was finding the maths very difficult and was about to give up. While waiting outside the maths lecturer’s office I spotted a poster of Winston Churchill – Winston was pointing  at me from the poster ranting the words “Deserve Victory”. The poster had quite an impact on me.  From that moment onwards I knuckled down, working late nights seven days a week, pursuing and using every resource I could find and eventually passing all the maths subjects – some of them by a whisker but as they say you don’t have to paint a picture.

 Since that time I have reflected many times on the inspiration Winston had shared with me. I made myself a copy of the Churchill poster and laminated it and I still have it now. I pull it out every now and then when I am struggling – it provides me with a reminder that I can persevere and overcome adversity.

There are many great stories about people persevering and overcoming adversity. See an example from the movie Hidden Figures where one of the African American women persevered for a long period of time to overcome some of the racial discrimination issues at NASA during the space race.

Researchers now know with some authority just how important the characteristic of  perseverance is to solving problems. It is also a key factor helping leaders to achieve breakthrough outcomes.

 So here are the six offerings to broaden your understanding of perseverance.

 1.     Be true to Yourself

I met a women at Charlestown Square two days before writing this post. She told me that she had previously worked in manufacturing. She talked about persevering with a university degree in Electrical Engineering for two years in the hope that a position might open up for her in the industry where she worked. It turned out that after 2 years her boss refused to allow her the opportunity. At that time she realised she didn’t really enjoy electrical engineering. She said she is now following her passion and is half way through a Physiotherapy degree. She is happily working towards her goal apparently in sync with her values and interests. This reminds me that it is import that the subject of your perseverance is indeed what you want – be true to yourself.

2.     Adopt a Continuous Learning Approach

Many great leaders have cited persistence as a value and the good news is that researchers believe that perseverance is developable.

The French writer and philosopher Voltaire once said that “No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking."

Inventor Thomas Edison

Inventor Thomas Edison and his team epitomise persistence. They tried 6,000+

different items to serve as the filament in a light bulb before achieving success. He said, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to always to try just one more time.

Malcolm Gladwell in his book, ‘Outliers’ refers to the need for perseverance to succeed. He describes the perseverance required to achieve excellence. The 10,000 hours rule proposes that it takes 10,000 hours of dedicated practice to become world class at anything. It seems that we need to reframe our view of temporary failure and persevere for the long haul in order to be successful.

3.     Ignore the Naysayers

Australian Ex Prime Minister Julia Gillard

There will always people who will tell you that you are wrong or that you can’t succeed. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard describes stubbornness (I believe she meant perseverance) as one leadership characteristic that is absolutely necessary for leaders to succeed. She added that you absolutely have to ignore the naysayers.

Gillard stated that you have to  “Develop a sense of self that isn’t hostage to what other people think about you.” Julia Gillard (stated on Q&A ABC – July 2020)

Or as Arnold Schwarzenegger once said

“If I would have listened to the naysayers, I would still be in the Austrian Alps yodeling.”

 What this spells out to me is that you have to become proficient at avoiding the Naysayers.

4.     Be guided by science

You might be thinking what has science got to do with perseverance and leadership? Simply put we need to persevere with something that is worthwhile; evidence based or at least possible rather than superstition, witchcraft or ego-based.

While it is true that science is based on what we know from the past, it should be at least considered ahead of persevering with something we would like to achieve in the future. For example; ignoring factors such as scientific evidence about climate change, rather than not acknowledging its existence – be guided by science.

5.     Press on Regardless

Sometimes we just don’t feel up to pressing on. It helps us to understand that these moods and feelings come and go – they are not enduring and they should not distract us from our commitments. These feelings are not who we are in the same way that our senses such as taste, smell, hearing and sight are not who we are – they come and go. We need to remind ourselves that what drives us to persevere, is our commitment towards your goal. As Churchill once stated defined success as  -

 ‘Going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm.’

 In other words “Press on Regardless”

6.     Take Stock Routinely

Two nights before writing this post I caught part of an ABC television show, Grand Designs hosted be Kevin McLoud. In this particular episode Kevin interviewed a man who had persisted over a number of years to continue to build his dream home. He described his vision was to live in his dream house with his family. It was quite challenging to watch because he had experienced significant setbacks along the way. Midway through the build he had separated from his wife and children and had compiled millions of dollars of debt. Despite all this he advised that he was still committed to borrowing more money to complete the house. It is important to take stock during your period of perseverance and recognise  situations where stubborn persistence may not be the answer.

Country Music Singer Kenny Rogers

As the Kenny Roger’s song titled ‘The Gambler’ goes.

 “You gotta know when to hold em and know when to fold em.”

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