14 Rewards Of Perseverance

For those of you who have not gotten it, nor who have not gotten where you want to be, and are tired and weary and want to give up, this post on perseverance is for you!   Hang on, for you are already in the process of investing in those pay offs and rewards just waiting for you!

Striving towards your goals or fulfilling your dreams   is in a way a rite of  initiation that is part of living this human life.

Life presents us with many of these “rites” as they crop up in our lives.  Some come early on, and others come much later.

First of all congratulate yourself that you are on the road, however treacherous and uncertain that path may seem.  At least you have started out of the gate!

You are amongst the lucky few that knows what you want to do, or where you want to be. Many go through life going in undecided circles of not knowing and end up floundering like aimless fish in the sea.

Some of you are called to lead a path of acceptance as a goal.   That acceptance may mean living with a physical or mental affliction, or recovery from addiction.

In these cases, where the goal does not end up with a degree, title ,medal or position, the goal of living a responsible life to the fullest despite this affliction becomes an everyday repetitive act.

Those of you who have to reimplement that goal every day, you do indeed bear the brunt of perseverance longer and in many ways with more hardships because of your affliction.

Your everyday living with those hardships is an accomplishment and  reward in itself, that those with a forseeable end may not necessarily experience.

Perseverance feels like pushing a heavy Sisyphean rock up a mountain top and being called to do the same the next day.  It get old, boring and downright depleting.

You go through periods when there is no light in the tunnel, especially if plagued with depression which makes every step feel slower and like walking in thick mud.

Yes, there will be times when you decide the fight is not worth the pain and exhaustion.  Those “throw in the towel” periods do not mean defeat, but only that a pit stop or restorative rest is in order.

Perseverance  can be liken to being a tugboat slowly plying up the river.  Sometimes the upstream currents become too strong and the tugboat seems like it is barely moving.

Fortunately for you, those heavy currents of obstacles and hardships eventually pass so you like the mighty tugboat continues upstream.

I like going to the banks of the Seine, looking at them pushing massively loaded barges , sometimes even two  going at a snail’s pace, but going!

I marvel at that little tugboat’s strength and perseverance and am reminded of my own tugboat days and that of my patients who are either caught in upstream currents or have safely navigated through tough waters  to the goal line.

If you were to have asked me during those times how I felt, I would have told you like a “very tired tugboat”, but unstoppable!

Getting my captain’s license in emotional and mental tug boating required diligence and perseverance.    Hard things are hard to do!

There were times in my life where I felt I was just treading water, barely afloat and in need of floaties to make it to shore.

Letting others know I was in distress and needed help was in order. so don’t think you you have to swim alone.

So what are these rewards besides the sought after goal, be it a degree, a position, a title, a new endeavor or project,  a new skill to master, a new philosophy of life,  or a new life somewhere else?

The first that comes to my mind and perhaps the most important is endurance!  Endurance is the ability to withstand, to shoulder, to bear, and to follow through despite obstacles ,hardships and stress.

If you are going to master anything in life, endurance will always be a necessary part of it, because rarely can anybody just jump in the saddle and take off.

Life will churn and twist you endlessly until you learn how to ride life with some endurance.

Patience is also a great rewards of perseverance, because it takes time to achieve and accomplish  goals. Nothing comes quickly to worthwhile accomplishments, especially when that entails learning to master new skills.

A surgeon may know how to operate, but it takes much practice to become skilled.  Same with a chef or athlete, etc.

Being able to put up with frustration and feelings of inadequacy until you finally are able to be where you want to be in a skill, a title, position or any goal is part of the process of restructuring your mental capacities.

Resistance to failure and setbacks, without allowing it to take away your dreams is part of the curriculum too.    Failure should be understood ,  as ONLY not accomplishing  a goal in the time frame you thought imperative or in the way you proceeded.

Failures and setback are often part of the road to success.  They are marvelous teachers of what not to do.  They teach us to try another way or another path to undertake to  accomplishing our goals.

A sense of accomplishment, even when we are taking baby steps is a most wonderful reward, because it feels good.   Accomplishment contributes to building our self-esteem.

Perseverance will teach you how to prioritize, as when in the midst of goal seeking, your energy can’t be scattered everywhere.

Commitment goes hand in hand with perseverance requiring discipline to stay focused on the desired outcome.  Those rewards will indeed serve you well  in navigating the river of life.

I like to tell my patients to throw their dream anchor into the future and hang on to the rope as they slowly pull themselves along at their pace. The anchor isn’t going anywhere till they get to the end of the line or pull it up.

The hardships and setbacks that can bring you to the  breaking point  can very well lead you towards a spiritual path, or strengthen an existing one.

Having a spiritual path, while acknowledging that there is a greater divine energy and purpose , rewards you with a rudder of stability and most of all that you are never alone on your path!

Resiliency is a wonderful byproduct of perseverance.  Not falling off the surfboard of life with each overwhelming wave or tsunami stress takes time to learn and develop.

Psychological muscle is an outcome as well and will serve as your life-preserver through the rough times that will be a part of your life.

This mental fortitude develops with each successive path requiring persevering. Like going to the gym to build up body muscle, it accumulates over time and the good thing is you can’t lose it!

 Gratefulness is the best and most wonderful reward, at least for me,  for anything accomplished.

Expressing gratitude to God for giving me the courage to persist and the help to endure the tribulations in reaching my goals has always been essential for me.

Self gratitude is definitely in order as well.  Thanking yourself for a job well done builds upon your cornerstone of self esteem, that no one else can give you!

As I wrote most of this post in between the various and multiple steps to making my birthday pastry , I hope I did not make too many uncorrected typos.

Today is my birthday and above all else I feel a tremendous sense of gratitude to being able to share whatever inspirational insights with you I might have on my birthday.  In doing so, it is actually also a  spiritual gift to me.

So, thank you for reading and if it resonates with your own struggles of perseverance, please let me know. Many blessings to each of you. Hugs!