Perseverance requires Trust

Perseverance!

Something we all talk about, but sometimes it is really hard to maintain it.

Have you experienced the following cycle: you have a goal you are working towards, so you work out what you need to do.  You start doing it and you feel really good about yourself, and you notice that things are moving in the right direction…and at that point, you start thinking!  You come up with all sorts of rational arguments why the route you have chosen might be the wrong thing to do or why no matter what you do, it won’t achieve the right results.  And so you either stop taking action altogether or you gradually do a bit less – either way, you are not working on it as much as you initially planned.  And eventually?  You have proven to yourself that what your attempt at making those changes isn’t working.  What is it that is missing?  Is it perseverance, character strength or trust in yourself?

Let’s look at an example: you set yourself the goal of losing weight, you change your eating habits, increase your exercise and you feel great.  After a few weeks of following these steps, your clothes start feeling more comfortable and you generally feel better in your body and then you step on some scales and your weight has not changed at all.

What do you focus on?  All the positive results you have achieved already or the scales that don’t show you the right number?  It is so easy to become frustrated and convince yourself that what you’re doing isn’t working.  Alternatively though, what would happen if you carried on doing all those things that made you feel good?

Trust yourself:

The fact of the matter is that you would continue to feel really good in yourself and you’d feel more comfortable.  Also, little, continuous changes are far more successful in the long run and will get you towards your goal – and keep you there.  However, what you need at this point is trust – and that can be the hardest thing – trusting yourself that you have got this and you can keep going until you get to where you want to be.

This is something I have often battled with myself and the more I’m working with my mindset coach, the more I learn to identify when I slip in this process and when I lose trust.  This in turn means I lose focus and trust less frequently – and when I do, I get back on track more quickly.

Having someone to work with who can help keep you accountable is without doubt, the key to perseverance.

If you want to explore this subject further, here is one of my favourite books on this topic – I found it really helpful:

The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

And if you want some help with making yourself accountable, why not get in touch for an informal chat?  I would love to help.