Under the Sun: Persistence is the key to achieving your goals

"If we are facing in the right direction, All we have to do is keep on walking." An Ancient Buddhist Expression

How do we acquire persistence? Is it genetic? Does it come from knowledge and/or trial and error? A couple of well-known examples of persistence come to mind, along with experiences from my own life.

My first example of persistence relates to the inventor, Thomas A. Edison who was considered by many to be a genius. He invented the electric light bulb in 1879. Prior to inventing the light bulb, he had numerous failures.

He and his associates worked on at least 3000 different theories. Many of us would have given up. Edison said, "I tested no fewer than 6,000 vegetable growths, and ransacked the world for the most suitable filament material."

My second illustration is a quotation from the New American Edition of the Bible found in chapter eleven of Luke:, "Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, 'Friend lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him; and he says in reply from within, 'Do not bother me; the door already has been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I can not get up to give you anything.' I tell you if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence." From my own experiences I have found support from others has helped me to persevere and achieve goals.

My parents had the goal of sending all seven of their children to college.

I married early and began my family, which put college on the back burner. I finally entered college when my older children were in high school and my youngest son entered kindergarten. However, through the passing years; I had never lost the desire to secure my college degree. The fact that my parents had inspired my goal was reinforcing through the years of waiting.

Success from persevering also has given me courage to pursue other difficult goals.

While I was earning my degree (1969) in education, I had taken some beginning classes at Lake Land Community College (LLC). Then LLC was a new concept in public higher education, as Illinois had passed the Community College Act only a few years earlier, in 1965.

While taking classes at LLC; I discovered first hand how its new and exciting student-oriented concepts had made higher education more accessible. After teaching a few years and loving my career in education; I decided it would be inspiring to play an active role in the governance and policy making of LLC. The college was growing by leaps and bounds and impacting so many lives in a positive ways.

To make a long story short; no woman nor elementary teacher had ever been elected to the college board.

Persistence along with the help and encouragement of many others made my goal possible. I spent less than one hundred dollars on gas and postcards to communicate my ideas to the voters in LLC's 15 county district. Much to my own surprise; I received the highest vote count of the trustees that were elected.

Returning to my original question, Edison answers for himself. He said, "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." Thus sometimes persistence is perspiration.

The Good Book tells us that sometimes persistence is more effective than friendship in achieving a goal.

I think my own desire plus inspiration and support from others has fueled my ability to persevere when my goals were not visible.

Perhaps some of these ideas will help you to persist in order to achieve your goals.