The Definition Of Perseverance - Personal Development Article

By:Steve Gillman

The definition of perseverance, from a dictionary: "Persisting in or remaining constant to a purpose, idea or task in spite of obstacles." Given that defintion, you can see that perseverance can clearly be a both a good thing and a bad thing. Sometimes, when you find yourself wanting to quit something, that might be the wisest choice.

A New Definition: Wise Perseverance

"Persisting in or remaining constant to a purpose, idea or task in spite of obstacles, when such persistence is congruent with higher values." In other words, if in your hierarchy of values, happiness ranks higher than money, don't persist in making money in ways that cause you to be unhappy. If making money is ranked higher than a particular business, you might need to quit the business when you see a better way. Persist in the pursuit of your values, but not necessarily in the means to achieve them.

The problem with the idea that you should quit when something isn't worth the effort, is that it's often used as a rationalization. The idea of quitting comes to mind when the effort is difficult, but really does serve your purposes. This is confusing at times, so how do you wisely persevere? Here are three ways.

1. Watch yourself objectively: Note when you look for excuses, rather than the truth. Ask questions. Is it possible you're letting fear or laziness cause you to quit or to procrastinate? Is there a pattern in your life that is repeating here?

Honestly and objectively watching ourselves is difficult. You can probably think of a time when you saw that a friend was lying to himself about something. Your perspective was more objective than his. Why not use this objectivity of an "outsider" to catch your own little lies? Before quitting anything, explain your reasoning to a friend, and ask him to honestly tell you what he thinks. He's more likely than you to recognize your rationalizations.

2. Look at costs and benefits: To wisely persevere, you need to see the costs and benefits of what you are doing. If moving to Hollywood to become a star is going to cost you your business or family life, you have to see that clearly before you decide. An honest and good decision requires honest and good information, and when you are more certain about your decision, you are more likely to find the strength to persevere.

3. Learn to motivate yourself: When you've made a decision, and you're sure you made it for the right reasons, you have to motivate yourself. In fact, perseverance requires that you regularly re-motivate yourself. Write goals down, do daily affirmations, and whatever else works for you.

Start watching yourself, and make self-awareness a habit. Get used to analyzing costs and benefits objectively. Find ways to motivate yourself. Do these three things and you will wisely persist. That's a more useful definition of perseverance.

Digg del.icio.us Blink Stumble Spurl Reddit Netscape Furl

Article keywords: definition of peseverance, perseverance, self improvement

Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

Steve Gillman writes on many topics including brainpower, weight loss, meditation, habits of mind, creative problem solving, generating luck and anything related to self improvement. Learn more and get FREE e-courses at www.SelfImprovementNow.com

Top Personal Development Articles
1). What To Do When Your Fears And Worries Overwhelm You By : Stan Popovich What do you do when your worries and anxieties overwhelm you? Here is a brief list of techniques that a person can use to help manage their worries and anxieties. Sometimes what we fear may happen can be overly exaggerated. A lot of times, our worrying can make the problem even worse. Remember that all the worrying in the world will not change anything.
2). Stuttering And Stammering Speech Impediment By : blueboy Stammering or as it is sometimes known as stuttering is a form of speech impediment. My name is Stephen Hill and I had a stammer for eighteen years. I went to various types of speech therapy which even though was of some use, never really offered me any hope of a "cure". At the age of twenty two, after a lot of hard work I managed to overcome the stammer and I now help other people to achieve fluency.
3). The first 14 dominant laws of the subconscious mind By : Emmanuel Segui Copyright 2006 Emmanuel Segui The subconscious mind is fascinating and intriguing. Yet, it is challenging to understand how it works so you can use its full power solve our problems and enhance every aspect of your life. Here are the difficult principles of the subconscious mind made very easy so you can apply them in your life today and see results tomorrow.
4). Stop Fear Now By : Denton Krypps I'm convinced that fear is one of the worst things in life. Think about all of the negative ways that fear affects your life. Think about all of the decisions you make or do not make because of fear in your life. Or think about the risks that you do not take or the relationships you do not pursue because of fear. You would do well to take a good look at the fears in your life and to attempt to tackle them head first until they are no longer fears.
5). How To Be Assertive Without Getting ANGRY By : Rosella Aranda Sometimes our efforts to show our assertiveness cross the line. We end up coming across as rude, aggressive or downright belligerent.
6). Avoiding Your Persistent Fears Will Not Make Them Go Away By : Stan Popovich Your fears, anxieties, and other problems have the best of you and you don�t know where to turn for help. At some point you feel totally helpless as you struggle each day. What do you do? As a layman and an author of a Managing Fear book, there were times that my fears had the best of me. Through these experiences, there is one thing that I learned.
7). Success After Failure - Even Genghis Khan Lost Some Early Battles By : John Watson Both the worst and the best of the great achievers had the belief in themselves and the resilience to overcome early failures. One of these was none other than Genghis Khan. There are powerful lessons we can learn from him. In 1162 a child, called Temujin, was born in Mongolia clutching a blood clot - a sign that he was destined to be a great warrior.
8). Crisis Management: The Most Basic Of Needs By : Sandy Baker Crisis management is something that every individual needs to consider. Whether you are preparing yourself for a crisis situation or if you are responsible for a school full of children, it is necessary to be prepared. There are excellent resources to help you do this and it also helps to take a good look at your individual situation. There are many types of crisis management situations and we will discuss that here.
9). Being the Mountain By : Judy Ringer As I hiked up the path to the Peaceful Valley Chapel, I relished the quiet of my early morning solitude. After many years as a participant and assistant instructor at Thomas Crum's Journey To Center Program, this beautiful and energizing ten-minute hike had become a personal ritual. Each morning of each Journey to Center week, before our breathing and meditation session at 7, I always hike to the top of this small mountain to be inspired by the view of a much higher mountain range in the distance.
10). What Causes People To Develop A Speech Impediment? By : blueboy I am one of many people who are unfortunate enough to develop a speech impediment in childhood. This article describes why these impediments may occur and how I went about achieving fluency. For the purpose of this article, I concentrate on the speech impediment known as stuttering. There are many reasons why people may develop a stutter, it can be.

New Personal Development Articles
1). Achieve Emotional Freedom By : ian Williamson Emotional Freedom Techniques, or EFT as it is most commonly known, is probably the most popular of a group of techniques collectively referred to as Energy Psychology (EP)
2). Assertiveness vs Aggression By : Robin Chandler When feelings are bottled up assertiveness can spill over into aggression, leaving the other person feeling attacked rather than reasoned with.
3). Are You Really Making Decisions? By : Garry Zancanaro There is a massive difference between hoping and wishing for success, happiness, self improvement, or that something will change in our lives, and actively deciding to make changes to our lives.
4). Why Self Improvement Is Important - Part 1 By : Garry Zancanaro An alarming percentage of people spend most of what they earn and many also have large debts. They are often no more that a few paydays away from bankruptcy and have little, if anything, put aside for emergencies, much less for a comfortable retirement.
5). Have You Got Your Priorities Right? By : Garry Zancanaro The ability to be able to set priorities and deal with our most important tasks first is an essential skill for making progress towards our goals and achieving results.
6). Dealing With Frustration By : Garry Zancanaro We all suffer from frustration, and being able to effectively deal with frustration is a very important skill to develop. It can be a decisive factor between success and failure.
7). Creative Napping and Other Power Tools - Part 2 By : Angie Dixon Creative Goofing Off, and other power tools, in part 2 of this 3-part series.
8). Quit Smoking with Self Hypnosis By : Gail Metcalf With the help of a self hypnosis program, you can overcome your craving for cigarettes.
9). Creative Napping and Other Power Tools - Part 3 By : Angie Dixon Final article in a series of 3 on creative power tools
10). To Move Forward You Have To Be Able To Bounce Back! By : Garry Zancanaro Successful people are also disappointed and affected by setbacks, and certainly get knocked down more often than most, if only because they try more things. This may happen not once or twice, but dozens or even hundreds of times. But successful people refuse to stay down - because they are resilient and will not be denied their dreams and goals.

� 2006 articles2k.com - Privacy Policy