Perseverance

Perseverance is one of those great words that extols stamina, drive, grit, and courage all in one twelve-letter word!  Perseverance can feel different depending on the day.  That morning you wake and think:  no way am I getting out of bed to write when I am so sleepy.  When you get up anyway, that’s perseverance.  That day your rational voice is saying that your novel is finished and ready to go but your inner voice is edgy and trying to tell you that something is wrong.  When you listen to the edgy voice and put in another week’s worth of work before submitting it – that’s perseverance.  

Once again, we are back to the idea that creativity is not just bursts of inspiration.  If we could wave our magic wands and produce innovative and meaningful work in those short spurts of energy and drive, perseverance wouldn’t be as important.   We build a creative practice through the work that a practice entails.  The days we don’t feel like working.  The moments when it feels pointless.  The drawing paper that splits from too much erasing or the sprained ankle after we lose our focus while dancing.   We feel those feelings, let the despair wash over us for a minute, an hour, or a few days.  And then we start again.

We’ve got to highlight perseverance and recognize how often we aren’t giving up.  Even if we feel like we’re getting nowhere, even just one moment of perseverance means we are still forging onwards.

What are your perseverance stories?  Do you pay attention only when you have given up rather than all the times you have kept going?