Perseverance is hard to have sometimes. Things happen in everyday life that just make you want to crawl under a rock and hide. It becomes a challenge to stick our heads back out into the world where they may get chopped off in the process. This is what perseverance is all about. The determination to keep going, no matter what the odds. It is the character of many successful people. Many of whom were knocked down before they even got to the door, but today they are successful people with rich full lives.  We can all learn from the example of Ieshia Champs. She dreamed of becoming a lawyer as a child, but found herself homeless, a single mother of 5 children in her twenties, without a high school diploma.  By the age of 33, she had earned a GED and gone on to graduate with a law degree from Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law.  She refused to allow life’s circumstances to hold her back and is now a practicing attorney.

A strong character is built around perseverance. It shows what you are made of when faced with an obstacle that you must overcome. Successful people are determined to achieve the goal they have laid out for their future. They keep striving to get there and will fight anybody and anything that gets in their way. They are determined to see a task through to completion and then they will sit back and reap the rewards.   Sylvester Stallone is a perfect example of someone who refused to quit.  Early in his career, he had every door closed on him as an actor. However, he did not let this deter his goal to enter the movie industry. Stallone banked on himself and wrote and starred in his own film Rocky and eventually went on to become one of the most successful actors.   

Refusing to give up doesn't mean that you will never fail. It just means that you may have to take the long way around instead of the shortcut. But don't stop believing that you can do what you set out to do. Refuse to quit just because the road became real steep and it is going to be a big drag to try to get to the top. The journey begins with the first step, so keep placing one foot in front of the other. Before long, you will look back and see all that you have accomplished on this journey called life. It will be a wonder that you got as far as you did and that you didn't stop when the times got really rough. 

Be a doer and a thinker. Instead of whining, come up with an achievable solution to your worst problem. This can start you on the road to confidence and self-esteem. If you decide you are unhappy, then you will live your life that way. But one morning, try to think happy thoughts and dream of a goal you want to achieve and you will be on your way. It may take many months or years to achieve, but you started by thinking it into existence as a goal to be earned.  Oprah Winfrey faced considerable hardships during her childhood. She has shared her story of being raped at the age of nine and becoming pregnant at age 14, baby did not live.  None of this prevented her from persevering. Oprah went on to become one of the wealthiest African Americans of the 20th century.

If you have things in your past that upset your future, try to contain them in one small part of your brain. Try to limit the contact you have with the bad memories of the past, let them go. They will just pull you down as you go through life. Living in the now is much better and less worrisome for people. The past is gone and there is nothing that can be done about it now. You can try to fix the mistakes you made by doing even better in the future. Everyone makes mistakes. Don't be so hard on yourself when you do. Take them for what they are as a life lesson. Learn from them and move on. Don't let one mistake ruin the rest of your life.  Personally, I was suspended from school in 9th grade for unruly behavior and fighting. This was a learning experience and turning point in my life.  I left this negative behavior behind and went on to become captain of the football team, president of the student government, and earned a full college scholarship.  Hence today, I have three college degrees, a successful career, and a beautiful family.

Make those hard decisions that are needed. They come about to test our mettle. Persevere and get through those challenges sent your way. This will show others what you can do. You may even have a few people ask you how you did it. Be honest and you may just be the one to start them on their journey. Take pride in that. Mentoring can be another goal that is very satisfying. Teaching someone else how you persevered through a bad situation can always help. To know we are not alone in the world is always a great feeling to have. To know someone else made it through, and now I can do it too is a wonderful way to teach someone about living.

Remember to take small steps on this long journey. Don't wear yourself out and try to do it all at once. Take your time and rest along the way. You will find that if you persevere, you can get to the finish line. 

Written by Dr. RL Kight for Mind Power Solutions.  Visit www.mindpowersolutions.com to learn more about our personal development and training services.