It is deliciously ironic that writing a post about persistence has been difficult to put into words. I have known what I wanted to say, but it has taken discipline and focused time to effectively construct my thoughts. The initial spark occurred after a mastermind meeting a few weeks ago, which I affectionately call my “Creative Dream Team,” where I was reminded that in order to get the work that I want to be doing requires four things:
- Know who I am and what I want to do
- Say to myself and to others who I am and what I do
- Do it
- Repeat
“Know Thyself”
The Greek maxim says it all: “Know thyself.” It means that you know many things about your identity and purpose for existing in this world. You know:
- Who you are
- What you are doing
- What you want to be doing
- What your goals are
- Why you do what you do
Unless you truly know these core values for your life, you will live a reactionary life, abiding in a daily survival mode as opposed to persisting, building character and values, ultimately learning how to thrive.
Say It
Once you “know thyself” it is time to tell yourself and others what you know. Internally, you need to be in a constant state of remembrance. Reminding yourself what you know as well as the successes and failures that have educated and defined you as a person. Externally, letting people know who you are and what you do is a form of marketing and networking. However, it is important that you are relational and learn from what others know about themselves.
Do It
Pretty self-explanatory. Unless you set out to do what you want to do, you will never accomplish your dreams. Unless you act, toil and sweat you will second guess what you know about yourself and what you want to do. Most importantly, you will stop remembering and you will stop relating to others. When a muscle atrophies, it slowly dies and needs requires extra work to come back to life. The same concept exists when you do not act upon what you know about yourself, your goals and what you tell others that you are going to do.
Repeat
The cycle of persistence is not a linear, one-time process: A, B, C, Done. It is a circular-process that continues until you are no longer circulating. You will never arrive at a place where persistence is not required. Anytime that you have something important to do, hard work is essential to bring it to life.
As I know myself, I am able to share and live according to what I know to be true about my identity and my pursuits. I make better decisions and I am able to do exactly what I want to be doing. But it takes a lot of work and remembrance of the successes and failures of the past, driving me to reach the next revolution of the cycle of persistence.