Is the will to persevere inherent in us, or is it cultivated by our environment and circumstances? I would say from personal experience that it is some of both. For example, in my life there have been people who purposely sought to undermine my self-confidence. Some of it was at a young age, so the will I felt within to overcome it must have been inherent. I did not have enough life experience yet in the outside world for it to be otherwise. It was the first discovery of my strength of will to persevere.

However, later in life as I was confronted with the same lesson in different forms, those additional experiences fired and honed my will. That perseverance stood me in good stead during some periods of my life that felt like they would break me. They did not. I moved through them stronger still.

I’ve been observing of late the coping mechanisms of people around me, and others I read about, as we have moved through this collective trying time the past two years. What I see is this: Mostly we are all built of strong stuff, we just don’t always get the chance to realize it. This time has laid bare our vulnerabilities, our courage, our perseverance, and most of all, our love.

Undoubtedly we will all look back on this and say, “I never want to do that again.” But we will not be able to deny how it made us better. These sorts of trying times show us what we are truly made of, both as individuals, and as the collective called humanity. There is hardly anything better than knowing how strong we are!

It behooves us to keep cultivating our will and perseverance skills. What I also observe lately is a persistent media narrative that we are weak and vulnerable. We are not, when we find the will within to persevere, and when we help each other through it. Keep going, keep growing, keep loving, and never give up!

For further reading about perseverance, here’s a good article from Forbes: These 7 Qualities Lead To Perseverance When Faced With Adversity

Inspirational Quotes:

You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
~ Maya Angelou

“Never lose hope. Storms make people stronger and never last forever.”
~ Roy T. Bennett

“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”
~ Confucius

“So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings.”
~ J.R.R. Tolkien

“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.”
~ Winston S. Churchill

Iron Perseverance © Susan L Hart 2021 | Friendly comments welcome | Photo courtesy b52_Tresa, Pixabay