Perseverance
The beauty of perseverance is found in the steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. Because, to quote Winston Churchill, "Continuous effort, not strength or intelligence, is the key to unlocking our potential."
And that right there, Churchill's quote, should be more than enough reason to keep pushing through, but it's amazing exactly how much outside encouragement it can require for me to actually start listening to the positive voices inside my own head. Now, for the first day in a while, I can honestly, enthusiastically, and wholeheartedly say, with no hesitation, that it has been a great day and will only continue to go up from here.
When I first accepted my current job, I knew it was going to be a tough journey, and it was going to push me so far outside of my comfort zone that I would either fall into flames or I was going to kick my own ass into gear and THRIVE. And I've got to say that these last two months have pushed me to the breaking point, to the point where I seriously almost gave in and succumbed completely to the overwhelming urge of safety and mediocrity.
But there were several things that would not allow me to give in to the comfort of the known, to run back to the safety of the suffocating rhythm of a 9 to 5 job, with a steady paycheck that would barely allow me to make ends meet, trading my minutes for cents on the dollar and slowly losing my soul in the process. Yes, even the fact that I considered going back to the life that I have come to deplore shows me just how much perseverance has forced me to grow.
Now, what astounds me so very much, and has been thrown into my face more times than I can count in this last month and a half, is the fact that even while I call myself strong, and I try to find the strength I need to push on, staying the course is not anything that I could have done on my own. I know, it can sound horrifying at times, and my pride is still learning to take a bite of that crow and swallow it, but with every mouthful it gets a little easier to stomach because I am evolving from the woman that I was before.
Humans are social creatures. We were not designed by our Creator to be alone. We can survive, but cannot thrive, without human interaction. There are so many things that can attest to these statements, but I have never had the truth hit so close to home as it did these last few weeks while I struggled with my own insecurities.
I have been surrounded by so much support, so much encouragement, so much positivity being spoken into my life in what I can easily qualify as one of the most difficult periods I have lived through. From my family (specifically my sister and parents), from my friends (and even those are a select few), and mostly from my coworkers and managers (who easily have a vested interest in my success, no?), it's nigh impossible for me to feel like I have not had any kind of help and so I have not been able to listen to that still, small voice that tends to haunt our waking hours, intent on making me believe that I am not designed or cut out to actually grab this life and run with it.
For so long, I have always assumed that perseverance was reliant on my own ability, that if I asked for help or support that I was no longer persevering through and could not claim that strength.
Well, all I can really say to that thought process now is, "Fuck off, you idiot."
And that right there, Churchill's quote, should be more than enough reason to keep pushing through, but it's amazing exactly how much outside encouragement it can require for me to actually start listening to the positive voices inside my own head. Now, for the first day in a while, I can honestly, enthusiastically, and wholeheartedly say, with no hesitation, that it has been a great day and will only continue to go up from here.
When I first accepted my current job, I knew it was going to be a tough journey, and it was going to push me so far outside of my comfort zone that I would either fall into flames or I was going to kick my own ass into gear and THRIVE. And I've got to say that these last two months have pushed me to the breaking point, to the point where I seriously almost gave in and succumbed completely to the overwhelming urge of safety and mediocrity.
But there were several things that would not allow me to give in to the comfort of the known, to run back to the safety of the suffocating rhythm of a 9 to 5 job, with a steady paycheck that would barely allow me to make ends meet, trading my minutes for cents on the dollar and slowly losing my soul in the process. Yes, even the fact that I considered going back to the life that I have come to deplore shows me just how much perseverance has forced me to grow.
Now, what astounds me so very much, and has been thrown into my face more times than I can count in this last month and a half, is the fact that even while I call myself strong, and I try to find the strength I need to push on, staying the course is not anything that I could have done on my own. I know, it can sound horrifying at times, and my pride is still learning to take a bite of that crow and swallow it, but with every mouthful it gets a little easier to stomach because I am evolving from the woman that I was before.
Humans are social creatures. We were not designed by our Creator to be alone. We can survive, but cannot thrive, without human interaction. There are so many things that can attest to these statements, but I have never had the truth hit so close to home as it did these last few weeks while I struggled with my own insecurities.
I have been surrounded by so much support, so much encouragement, so much positivity being spoken into my life in what I can easily qualify as one of the most difficult periods I have lived through. From my family (specifically my sister and parents), from my friends (and even those are a select few), and mostly from my coworkers and managers (who easily have a vested interest in my success, no?), it's nigh impossible for me to feel like I have not had any kind of help and so I have not been able to listen to that still, small voice that tends to haunt our waking hours, intent on making me believe that I am not designed or cut out to actually grab this life and run with it.
For so long, I have always assumed that perseverance was reliant on my own ability, that if I asked for help or support that I was no longer persevering through and could not claim that strength.
Well, all I can really say to that thought process now is, "Fuck off, you idiot."
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