Perseverance in achieving goals - 7 steps to become persistent and achieve your goal

Perseverance in achieving goals is an important quality, without which it is impossible to make dreams come true and implement large-scale tasks.
To ensure that your plans are realized, you must have perseverance and take steps forward even when it is very difficult. More details about the role of this personal quality and ways of its development are given below.

Definition of persistence

Persistence is a personal quality that helps to overcome any difficulties and systematically and persistently achieve goals.
Most often, perseverance manifests itself in prolonged overcoming of obstacles. You can see 2 other definitions of persistence at the end of this article.

Next, we will look at examples of perseverance from life, answer the question “how to become persistent” and how to develop this quality yourself with the help of books, exercises and trainings.

Why persistence is useful: situations when this quality will definitely come in handy

Perseverance is necessary in various areas of life and activity, as it allows you to increase the effectiveness of any activity . In each of the areas, the quality in question is used differently, depending on the prospects, timing and specifics of the activity.

Here are the most popular examples of situations where without a certain amount of persistence it is impossible to achieve the desired result:

1. The most common use of strong-willed character traits is achieving results in sports . Without a little persistence, it is impossible to lose weight, gain weight, build muscle, or develop flexibility.
2. A high success rate cannot be expected without persistence in the educational process . Generally, learning requires being persistent and consistent. Even small gaps in knowledge can subsequently lead to failure in practice.
3. To achieve long-term professional goals, it is extremely important to have trained persistence - and to use this characteristic whenever it is required to overcome obstacles. Success in your career also requires the ability to control your time, or the art of time management.
4. It is impossible to realize the dream of moving to another country or city , because only through consistent actions and persistence will it be possible to save the necessary amount of money, think through and solve problems with documents, and organize the process itself.
5. Without a bit of perseverance, it is impossible to achieve good results in recovery , and health is one of the most valuable resources that should not be wasted. For example, if a person needs to follow a strict diet and walk a lot to recover, he will not adhere to these recommendations, without using volitional resources.
6. It is extremely difficult to develop a new habit without persistence. Persistence helps you maintain consistency and stay true to your decision no matter what happens.
7. Those who want to get rid of negative habits and addictions , such as nicotine addiction, also need persistence. In moments of weakness, when it will be difficult to resist temptation, it is a strong-willed decision that keeps a person from breaking down.

In everyday life, people make the most of perseverance, perseverance and its derivatives in small things. But often this is not noticed.

An insufficient degree of development can be determined by the following signs:

• Lack of faith in success and one's own strength.
• A large number of started but unfinished tasks.
• Procrastination is putting off important life tasks and actions.
• Systematic repetition of problematic situations on the way to the goal.
• Frequent “black streaks” in life, when a problematic time comes in life, and in all its spheres at once.
• Indecision, hesitation and torment after making a decision.

It is important to pay attention to these signs in time and take measures to eliminate their root cause. You can successfully work on developing perseverance, as well as other personal qualities.

Examples of perseverance in life

1. Go up the career ladder. Get a job and overcome difficulties, win the favor of your superiors and colleagues, and conduct business successfully. Achieving a promotion will happen over time. But for this you need to be persistent in your work.
2. An example from literature can be cited from the story “The Tale of a Real Man” by B. Polevoy. The main character is pilot Alexey Meresyev. He lost both his legs when he was shot off a plane in a dogfight. He spent eighteen days in the forest, but still crawled to the village. After both his legs were amputated, he still continued to live. And over time I was able to sit at the controls of the plane. This is an example of a persistent person.
3. Achieve sports results. For example, in swimming. Train your body hard to achieve high results. Overcome body pain, laziness and the occasional desire to quit training.

WHY DO SOME PEOPLE HARD TO BE PERSISTENT?

Assertiveness requires three points of the triangle: passive, aggressive and assertive. You need to find the right combination of these three important things to be persistent.

PASSIVE

When we were children, adults always taught us to be kind and friendly to other children. Most of us have learned this lesson as “it is not good to argue and disagree with others” and are simply hesitant to express our opinions.

We develop passive behavior because we are programmed that those who step outside the norm and are not afraid to speak their mind are rude, disrespectful and often rejected by society. But what you don’t know is that by being passive, you become angry with yourself, which undermines your self-confidence and self-worth.

AGGRESSIVE

Quite the opposite of passive aggressive people, as a rule, they fail to take into account other people's rights and feelings. They do not realize that by expressing their opinions too aggressively, they undermine the self-esteem and rights of others.

Aggressive behavior manifests itself in different ways. For example, by simply asking someone to speak rather than asking, prodding, or ignoring the person, we encourage them to be passive while we become aggressive.

PERSISTENT

Assertiveness finds the right balance between passivity and aggressiveness. It is a two-way communication where we can convey our message and listen to others. This approach encourages an exchange of views so that the rights of both parties are exercised and opinions and feelings are expressed appropriately.

This means sharing information, understanding others and recognizing them as equals.

The struggle for this balance can be difficult. After all, each of us already has formed behavioral stereotypes and certain experiences. But if we open ourselves to change, we will see how important it is to learn to be persistent.

How and in what ways is persistence manifested?

• Sport. By playing sports, a person shows his perseverance and perseverance. In order to master yourself in this direction, you need great patience and fortitude.
• Victory. When participating in competitions or olympiads, participants want to win. Perseverance is the key to victory.
• Education. To gain knowledge, you need to be patient and persistent.
• Hobby. Even when doing what you love, a person shows persistence. After all, practicing requires time, energy and desire to do it.
• Creation.
  When doing something creative, such as drawing, you need to be persistent. Otherwise, you won’t be able to achieve a beautiful result.

SO WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE PERSISTENT?

Each person has different ways of developing this quality - for some, due to their upbringing and individual psychological state, it is easier to find a balance between passivity and aggressiveness, for others it may require a lot of effort and perhaps even psychotherapeutic work.

KNOW YOUR VALUE AS A HUMAN BEING

Never let other people feel less important than you. Don't make them feel inferior. But also in the opposite direction - do not allow your opinion to be humiliated or oppressed. Understand that your opinions, thoughts, feelings and your right to express them are just as valuable as anyone else's.

The point is also that a person non-verbally conveys a message to other people about how he considers himself to be. If I value myself and my opinion, others will value me. If not, they won’t take me into account either. Until you believe what you say, no one will believe you.

When we know our worth as a person, people will begin to see us as equals.

IDENTIFY YOUR NEEDS AND DESIRE AND EXPRESS THEM

You can endlessly wait for people to guess your desires or needs, but you never get it. Therefore, the first thing you must do is figure out for yourself what you need, what you want to achieve, and convey to others. This will not only help you express your thoughts more clearly, but will put your whole life in order.

However, if you want to achieve your goals, do not forget that there are limitations. Make sure you don't sacrifice other people's needs or tread on other people's rights in order to achieve your dreams.

ACCEPT THE FACT THAT YOU CANNOT CONTROL OTHER PEOPLE

As they say, you can't please everyone. You cannot predict other people's reactions or actions. If they don't like how we state our own views and opinions, that's not our responsibility. Of course, if they are expressed without violating the rights and feelings of others.

EXPRESS AND ACCEPT CRITICISM CORRECTLY

We have an imperfect life, so we criticize others and we are criticized. It is important that we learn to express negative thoughts in a way that does not offend others. You can still point out someone's mistakes, but in a polite way and in a way that is helpful for the improvement and development of that particular person.

In the same way, when we receive criticism, we should not take it with hostility. Yes, it is absolutely normal to feel upset or angry for a moment, but it is important that you have a mechanism for returning to sound reasoning so that you do not lose respect for the person who criticized you. Try to view criticism as useful feedback that we can use for our personal or professional growth.

LEARN TO SAY “NO”

We should always follow what suits us, our goals and principles. By following the lead of others despite your needs, you will certainly improve not only your momentary mood but also your self-esteem. Refusing correctly is an important skill. But, at the same time, remember that sometimes it is useful to leave your “comfort zone” and do something new, scary, or seemingly completely beyond your capabilities.

Translation of an article by Al Gomez from English.

I would like to summarize the above The word assertive is very interesting, it does not have a literal single translation into Russian, meaning at the same time persistence and self-confidence and persuasiveness, the ability to carefully defend one’s point of view after listening to others.
But how important it is to be exactly like this in life! And not only in work, but also in communication with friends, parents, husband, children. After all, we so often fall into two extremes - a passive or aggressive position. And, of course, the roots of this need to be sought in our childhood, and by starting to unravel this tangle of stereotypes, traumas and attitudes, it will gradually be possible to become a person who knows how to be absolutely assertive.

Respect yourself and others

It is very difficult to learn to respect yourself and others as equals. The roots of painful shyness grow, oddly enough, not from excessive modesty, but precisely from unequal treatment of people. It is important to understand that others have no desire to harm you, do you bad or offend you. Therefore, you have the right to demand respect from them for your own person in exchange for respect for them. Don’t be silent if you have something to say, don’t be afraid to meet new people, don’t be afraid to refuse and insist on your own - all these are signs of respect for people. Reasoned criticism is also a sign of respect, so don’t be shy to sometimes criticize others in a gentle way if you can explain your own view of the situation.

Take a holistic approach

Remember that in the matter of perseverance there are no unnecessary trifles. Any detail that we are talking about now must be taken into account. If you start skipping some steps as too obvious, then at the right moment the whole overall strategy may not work due to some small overlap. Try to always look at the problem comprehensively, then nothing can take you by surprise.

By the way, preparing in advance for a possible failure is also a very useful thing. It must always be kept in mind. As soon as you start achieving something, be sure to think about what you will do if you fail to achieve your plan. This should not be considered a readiness for defeat - rather, reasonable rear cover in case of a tactical retreat.

Divide into small steps

Once you have decided on your goal, break it down into as many simple steps as possible. Then follow these small steps religiously and don't stop until you complete them all one by one. It is much easier to complete each such small task than to think about the entire global task.

For example, you want to get a salary increase. Think about what you need to do for this and who to talk to? Make a list of your work achievements and arguments for a salary increase, talk with your immediate supervisor about the possibility of such an action, find out who you need to contact directly, calculate the approximate amount of the increase, write a speech, choose the right time. If you couldn’t complete some point, then review the plan and make adjustments to it.

Repeat until victory

Don't be afraid to repeat something if you didn't succeed the first time. It may not work the second time or even the third time - that’s okay. Do not think that contacting the same person with the same question several times is intrusiveness or importunity. Most questions, cases and problems require multiple approaches, especially since between them you will have the opportunity to analyze the mistakes you have made and understand exactly why it was not possible to do it. There are also situations when the plan cannot be realized for some specific reasons and it cannot be otherwise. But this is already a matter of competent planning - you need to set realistic goals for yourself, then you won’t have to doubt the repetition strategy.

Encourage your success

To achieve success, you need to think positively. First, make a list of your good qualities and strengths. Before starting any important task, do not forget to review it, update it and recharge yourself with positivity. Save all certificates of commendation, letters of gratitude and simply quotes from correspondence where you are highly appreciated.

At the same time, do not forget to praise yourself from time to time - be sure to reward yourself for a job well done, perseverance or other success.

This could be simply an entry in a special “diary of victories,” a note on a blog, or a bar of your favorite chocolate. The main thing here is the emotional message.

Keep an eye on the outside

External attributes play an important role in demonstrating perseverance. Willy-nilly, you will have to interact with other people. In order to be persistent and achieve your goal, focus on the external manifestation of emotions, posture and posture. Keep your back straight, which will give you confidence, don’t hide your gaze, don’t raise your voice or whisper. The more evenly and calmly you behave, the greater the chances that you will be able to accomplish your plans the first time.

If it’s difficult for you to immediately change your strategy of external behavior, then return to point 2 of our list and write down all possible actions in small steps: what is better to wear, how to monitor your posture, what gestures confident people make. Observing persistent people or reading books and articles on popular psychology can help you with all this. For example, something about sign language. Don’t worry if everything doesn’t work out right away, and try to introduce the external habits of a persistent and self-confident person one at a time. Very soon they will become inseparable from you.

Use visual motivation

To learn how to achieve your goals, you need to be as specific as possible about what exactly you want. Our thinking is structured in such a way that the more abstract our desire, the more difficult it is for us to imagine exactly how we will go towards it. For example, if you want to save money for a trip to Europe, then you cannot stop at such a vague formulation. Think through and write down—or even sketch—every last detail. Where, how and what will you travel, where will you stay, what sights will you see, what things will you pack in your luggage and what souvenirs will you bring to your friends. This way you can immediately estimate how much money you need to save - and the goal will become much clearer.

If you want, for example, to lose weight, then not only hang photos of your dream figure everywhere, but also visualize your own excess weight. For example, build a pyramid of pencils, where each pencil symbolizes 100 grams of excess weight. Remove 1 pencil for every 100 grams of weight lost and watch how such a pyramid melts before your eyes.

The Nature of Fear

To develop courage, you first need to conquer your fears, many of which originate in childhood. Severe fear and fear are a response of the nervous system to a situation that forces a person to flee or capitulate to danger. At the same time, the adrenal glands begin to actively produce the hormone cortisol, which provokes severe stress.

Thus, fear is a natural reaction of the body , based on chemical processes in the body and reinforced by the environment, which teaches a person to always be on guard. The ability not to be afraid of anything and not to panic is developed through proper training of consciousness.

Any attempt to hide from a real or perceived threat by burying your head in the sand makes fear stronger. The longer a person searches for an excuse for his cowardice, the more time he will spend panicking about the possible undesirable consequences of a particular situation.

Only by looking into the face of your fear can you find an effective weapon against it.