Smashed Against the Waves – How to Persevere

People often talk about the importance of perseverance and persistence as the keys to success. The idea of never giving up, never failing sounds great but unfortunately is a lot easier said than done. The most difficult part of life’s obstacles is that they never come in a singular fashion, they come again, and again, and again until you feel like you’ve been kicked too many times, you’re too exhausted, you can’t bring yourself to generate enough enthusiasm to fight again. This is true in life, in business, in your professional career or even through a struggling relationship.

We’ve all been there, and the best way to describe the feeling of life’s obstacles crashing down on you is the death defying circumstance of if you were sweep under by a wave. So picture it, you’re surfing and all of sudden a big wave catches you and you are thrown to the bottom of the sea. You struggle to get back to the top only to be hit by yet another wave, and another, and another. You try to ride the wave, grabbing just enough strength to get you to the top so you can catch a quick breath only to be smashed down again. Your lungs burn, you’re muscles are tired and weak, and after this goes on for 5, 10, maybe 20 or 30 minutes you start to lose hope. You feel like you won’t make it as exhaustion sets in and your energy is depleted, and the decision to quit and die flashes before your eyes.

This very circumstance is what many go through in their lives. Yet it’s not over in 30 minutes or even several hours, it’s over months, years, or a lifetime. Entrepreneurs, business people, everyone goes through tough times and the ability to persevere, not quit on their business, their goals, and their life’s ambition can be so hard when one wave after another keeps beating them down. It’s at this point people need to dig deep, and fight even harder to get to shore to find their sunlight and sandy beach. Remember, it is never over until you quit or your heart stops beating.

Trust me, I will never quit.

So how can you persevere?

1. Don’t be an optimist

Remember, it was John Stockdale that said that the ones that didn’t make it out of the POW camps were the optimists. They said they’d get out in November and November came and went, they said they’d get out in March and March came and went, eventually the optimists died of a broken heart. The ones that believed they would get out but understood that they were going to go to hell and back were the ones that persevere. Develop that mindset and be prepared to take another wave and have to fight for your life again and again.

2. You have to want it like you want to breath

Eric Thomas, a famous motivational speaker always says, when you want success as much as you want to breathe, it will be yours. In difficult times, you have to take that even more seriously, you have to believe that you want to succeed and quitting is as serious as death. Under the waves, if you quit, you’ve given up on life, simple as that. You need to have that level of intensity to fight through life’s waves.

3. Remember what’s important

Finding purpose behind anything you do can be all the difference in difficult times. Whether its family, dreams, helping people, find a purpose greater than yourself to give you the extra boost of motivation and energy you need to push past it.

4. If you’re going to die, fight for every last breath

In times of hopelessness and complete defeat, if you decide to do everything in your power to prevent defeat, fighting till it’s all over, you’ll often find a beacon of light and opportunity in the midst of hell. I’ve found that in times of hopelessness with my business, relationships, and life in general, it was the idea that I’ll at least go down fighting that often lead me to a different path and eventual success.

Remember, perseverance was never meant to be easy and not something everyone can possess. The greats had it, and as Calvin Coolidge said, perseverance and determination have and will always solved the world’s problems.  Take this moment to proclaim yourself as a great and make a decision to never quit, never back down, and always fight till the end.