Positive Psychology: the virtue of persistence (perseverance)

“There are more people who quit than there are people who fail” (Henry Ford)

Hello friends!

Continuing our Free Positive Psychology Course, in this lesson we are going to study one of the virtues linked to courage: persistence or perseverance.

Definition of Persistence

According to the Via Institute On Character, “persistence is defined as continuing voluntary action toward a goal despite obstacles, difficulties, or discouragement. The terms perseverance and persistence are used interchangeably although the connotations of perseverance are more uniformly positive than those of persistence. The caveat is made that perseverance does not mean obsessively pursuing unattainable goals, as well as persistence in itself is not necessarily a strength of character, but rather the ability to know when to persist and when to give up, and then persist when it is advisable”.

Read also – And when is it better to give up?

From the text we see that the definition of persistence includes the ability to know when to persist and when to give up. One way of understanding this need for evaluation is that a person who persists in something that has no future or persists just for the sake of persisting, out of stubbornness, is not realizing a virtue. Rather, you are harming yourself or harming others.

In professional and career life, persistence is often cited as a must-have for success. Giving up halfway, as we know, is more frequent than trying and keeping trying until the achievements and the positive consequences of the achievements arrive. According to Henry Ford: “There are more people who give up than there are people who fail!”

It is important to note, however, that for positive psychology (Seligman) persistence should not be confused with mental persistence. The guy who has an idea and keeps this idea all his life of something that should be done is not a person with the virtue of perseverance, despite having a persevering idea in him.

As Fernando Pessoa says, “The World is for those who are born to conquer it and not for those who dream that they can conquer it, even if they are right”, that is, there is a big difference between those who think, think, think – persistently – but he doesn’t do it and he who thinks, and does, does, does until he succeeds. So that the virtue of persistence, in positive psychology, is inseparable from action, behavior.

Examples of persistence and perseverance

“In the summer of 1855, 16-year-old John D. Rockefeller needed a job. He had just completed a 3 month accounting course, and had made a list of companies in his hometown of Cleveland that might need an accounting assistant. Cleveland was booming economically, but no one was willing to give someone so young and inexperienced a chance.

For weeks Rockefeller kept looking, Monday through Saturday, walking the hot streets in a suit and tie, trying and trying to find a job. It was rejected by every company on the list. But he reacted to these responses by simply trying again, asking for interviews at the same companies that had denied him the job in previous days. Until a transport company saw the effort and persistence of the young Rockefeller and hired the man who would become the richest man in the world and, in his time, the most influential businessman ′′ (Seligman, p. 229).

Another classic example of perseverance is the invention of the light bulb. Thomas Edison knew – like the scientists of his time – that it was possible to transform one type of energy into another. For example, it was possible to transform kinetic energy into electrical energy. Therefore, it was plausible to assume the possibility of transforming electrical energy into light energy. The problem was to find a type of filament that would not burn out and would maintain illumination for long periods.

After trying more than 1,000 times, Edison decides to rest and, in a dream, finds the solution that had been suggested by an assistant that day: using tungsten filament. Well, knowing the story, it doesn’t seem that dramatic. But imagine a little before the discovery. Imagine trying once and failing. Trying a second time and failing… imagine trying a thousand times! And it goes wrong… it’s no wonder that most people have given up on the attempt or haven’t even tried…

However, Edison’s idea – along with his behavior – was that he had done nothing wrong. He had discovered ways that hadn’t worked. That is, he had not discovered, still, what worked – but he was already one step ahead in each attempt, because he knew what didn’t work.

In the words of Edison: “I have not failed 10,000 times. I just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.”

Conclusion

99% of entrepreneurs include persistence and perseverance as a personal characteristic essential for success. If we observe the life stories of people who achieved their goals, we will see that the path was not linear, it did not go from point A to point B on a straight and quiet road.

It is obvious that a person who wants to achieve success, that is, wants to achieve his goals, has to have a goal, a goal. However, the journey to get there necessarily involves obstacles, difficulties, setbacks. That is why persistence and perseverance are fundamental. Without them, there is abandonment. And, if there isn’t enough motivation, there’s just the idea without even trying once.

Questions, suggestions, comments, please write below!

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