Perseverance

I have been thinking about perseverance a lot lately. I watch my boyfriend and this is something he seems to have down pat. He seems to see very clearly that if you just put a little bit into something every day, it will slowly but surely start to move in the right direction. I would guess that also makes him a patient person. As for me, I am not naturally patient when it comes to most things. (Although, strangely, I was a very patient teacher, but that's another story.) I am often motivated by results and progress, and I don't always have the confidence to see that by giving a little each day, the results will come. I am also really hard on myself, which can be a major flaw. I expect so much from myself all at once and then when I don't deliver 110%, I feel defeated. I wasn't always the type of person who gave up easily though, and I'm not sure that I've quite become that yet either. I just have been feeling more fragile over the past few years, and I want that to stop. I want to be more like G. I really admire him for his perseverance and patience.

I decided to google "perseverance + quote" and when I clicked on the first link, I found a lot of great quotes to read through. The first one that caught my eye was:

"The great majority of men are bundles of beginnings." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I thought this was particularly appropriate considering that I had already written about how many new starts I've given myself. I feel that I have been exactly that, a bundle of beginnings... without any real substance or concrete movement towards any one goal. I don't want to be lumped into a category with "most men" anymore. I want to start achieving some goals and make some changes in my life.

Another quote that caught my eye and reminded me more of how my boyfriend approaches some things is:

"If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep walking." - Buddhist saying.

I just love the simplicity of that thought. As long as I get up every day and keep writing, I will be published. As long as I don't give up, I will succeed. Now, I would say there is probably a direct corellation between how much effort you decide to spend on something each day and how quickly you achieve that goal. Even so, there is some comfort in thinking that even if I don't put as much as I think I should, as long as I am still walking, moving, taking steps in the right direction (however small), I will get there eventually. Maybe there is danger there in becoming a bit too complacent and non-driven, but I think it's still a thought in the right direction for me. Just don't give up. Keep walking. Build momentum. No excuses.