now, no signup required!
Nobody knew what the year 2020 had in store. As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, everything changed in and around our lives. As the world continues to adjust to the new normal, it’s important to reflect on the various ways we have created opportunities. From online education to working from anywhere, the world is navigating the crisis in the best ways possible.
Most of all, we have been able to come so far because of perseverance. Our willingness and determination make all the difference. So, what does perseverance mean? Read on!
-
What Is Perseverance?
-
Why Is Perseverance Important?
-
The Importance Of Perseverance In Current Times
-
How To Develop Perseverance
-
Practice Excellence, Strengthen Perseverance
What Is Perseverance?
At its simplest, perseverance is the act of working toward your goal despite challenges and setbacks. It’s the persistence you display, even if there is a delay in achieving goals or success. People who have long-term goals often lose focus and direction. It’s difficult not to lose motivation and enthusiasm after a certain point; however, perseverance teaches you how to continue working hard until you succeed.
Perseverance boils down to the drive and resilience you display while completing an objective. Irrespective of the challenges that emerge or the time it takes you to complete the task, you persist tirelessly and pursue your set goal(s). It’s an important quality in life as it allows you to stay in the game even though everything else says it’s time to call it quits. Perseverance helps you achieve your life’s dreams, goals and vision.
Let’s look at some famous examples of perseverance and see how hard work eventually paid off for these individuals:
-
Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, popularly known as Rajnikanth, is one of the most renowned actors of our time. Did you know that he used to be a bus conductor? His desire to become an actor pushed him to pursue theater and eventually enter the Indian film industry.
-
Before Indra Nooyi joined PepsiCo as the senior vice president of corporate strategy, she worked as a receptionist. It helped her save enough money to buy formal wear and appear for interviews with confidence. In PepsiCo, her hard work and steady determination helped her drive success and she was widely recognized for her exceptional leadership skills.
-
Milkha Singh, also known as the Flying Sikh, became the first Indian man to compete in an Olympics athletic event. He lost his family to the brutal violence that followed the partition of India. He brought discipline and direction to his life when he joined the army and decided to compete in athletics. His determination became critical to his success.
As we can see, perseverance can do wonders and it’s one of the most important qualities of successful individuals.
Why Is Perseverance Important?
Perseverance in the face of challenges indicates leadership qualities. As already highlighted in the above examples of perseverance, individuals who demonstrate perseverance are more likely to succeed in life, especially professional life. Perseverance is a sign of stepping outside your comfort zone and staying focused on your efforts. It also means that you have a growth mindset, that is, the belief that you can develop essential qualities through your efforts. This is a highly valuable quality that organizations actively seek when they’re hiring.
Here’s why you need to prioritize perseverance and take steps toward developing this quality in your life:
-
Leads To Mastery
You may not know how to do something, even though you’re passionate about it. It’s perseverance that’ll help you attempt and pursue something, in addition to doing your best. Rome wasn’t built in a day; you need to be patient because hard work will eventually pay off. Sustained efforts over time can even lead you to master a new skill. You can excel as long as you stay determined.
-
Makes You Resilient
Say you were rejected after five job interviews. You can either quit looking for a job or refuse to give up. Perseverant people don’t quit easily. They will continue to rise up to challenges and continue to work hard. Therefore, you become resilient as you power through difficulties and continue to step outside your comfort zone. You continue to grow emotionally as well.
-
Teaches How To Manage Crises
Perseverance teaches you how to focus on solutions instead of problems. For example, if something goes wrong, perseverant individuals will identify ways to mitigate a crisis. They know how to stay calm and carry on. In other words, they look at the bigger picture and not abandon a situation or responsibility midway.
The importance of perseverance lies in the fact that it makes you optimistic about the future. You learn not to give up because you believe that the power remains in your hand, as long as you keep at it.
The Importance Of Perseverance In Current Times
With the rise of small businesses and start-up enterprises, the scope of entrepreneurship continues to expand. However, only a few businesses take flight and succeed in establishing themselves. There are several qualities required in starting and running your own business. Some of them include ambition, intelligence and creativity but most of all, you need perseverance. Without it, sometimes, even the best among us gets it wrong.
Perseverance skills can teach you how to bounce back from disappointment or failure. If you’re a professional, consider these qualities of perseverant leaders to effectively navigate business environments and career advancement:
-
They Keep Asking Why
People who persevere are the ones who continue to ask ‘why’. It serves as a constant motivator and keeps you on track. It can be as simple as: why am I doing this? The more you remind yourself, the clearer your purpose gets. This is what keeps pushing you.
-
They Have Self-Belief
You may have heard people say: if you don’t believe in yourself, how will they? If you want to achieve anything, you need to believe in your skills and qualities. Every successful leader believes in themselves and believes in the change they want to make in the world. Fostering your self-belief can help you persevere better.
-
They Make Room For Vulnerability
It isn’t easy to face your failures and it especially isn’t easy to ask for help. Successful people persevere because they know how to learn from their mistakes and overcome setbacks. Instead of giving up easily, they know how to pick themselves up and ask for help. They aren’t afraid of being vulnerable and connect with others in times of need. It’s okay to share your struggles with people you can trust.
It’s important to remember that perseverance is the direct result of our habits. The more we overcome our fears and challenges, the more resilient we become.
How To Develop Perseverance
As we’ve already established, perseverance skills are critical to workplace success. Moreover, these skills can be developed over time through patience and practice. Let’s look at several ways in which you can improve your perseverance skills:
-
Reject The Urge To Quit
The first step to build a perseverance mindset is to reject the urge to give up or quit. If you’re unable to accomplish something, give yourself time. Start again the next day. Remind yourself of the reason you’re doing it and the ultimate objective you want to achieve.
-
Create An Action Plan
A detailed action plan can help you remain focused on every objective. It should account for your journey from start to completion. The primary benefit of the plan is that it holds you accountable and helps you keep track of your progress. The more you monitor, the easier it is to stay motivated.
-
Prioritize Improvement
At the core of perseverance lies the act of getting out of your comfort zone. You need to make peace with the fact that you need to work on self-improvement. Establishing higher standards of excellence for yourself is a good place to start. As you continue to strengthen perseverance, you continue to grow as a well-rounded individual.
While these strategies are useful in keeping you focused on your goals, it’s equally important to accommodate things that you care for. When you’re passionate about something and enjoy doing those tasks, it’s easier to stay on track; otherwise, it may start to feel like a burden.
Practice Excellence, Strengthen Perseverance
Perseverance is a skill that employers highly value because they need people who can power through tough circumstances. If you want to sharpen your focus and remain persistent in your efforts, Harappa’s Practicing Excellence course can help you achieve it. The course will help you learn how to continuously improve your performance and deliver excellence consistently. The 1% Rule framework, in particular, will teach you how to make small improvements for better performance. Exceed expectations at work by choosing Harappa today!
Explore Harappa Diaries to learn more about topics such as How To Show That You’re Detail-Oriented, the Constructivist Learning Theory, Asynchronous And Synchronous Learning, What Is The Pomodoro Technique & The Importance Of Time Management that will help you achieve the highest levels of performance.
