Perseverance
I recently embarked on a 120 Day Challenge to ‘Do What I Love’ everyday. I did this for a number of reasons and most importantly though for my own personal experience. As a Life Coach I wanted to have the experience of all that comes with making a ‘commitment to do what I love and to experience ALL that this challenge had on offer. An added benefit for me was that I can also help others to go through similar experiences. There are so many things I love to do. I love to write, I love to coach, I love to paint, I love to help others, I love photography, I love to play guitar. Many of these I think I should do. When I asked myself what I would truly love, I chose to Paint everyday. With very little experience ( a folk art course 20 yrs ago and note here I did not take art at school) I felt the fear and did it anyway…..clearly, on Day 30 this has now become an opportunity to tap into the ‘POWER OF PERSEVERANCE’. Some of you may think because you are doing what you love it will be easy and effortless, well it can be depending on your attitude. However, even doing what you love presents itself with many challenges and it’s also a perfect opportunity for all your demons to raise their ugly heads to inform you you’re not up for the task. This is where perseverance can become your best friend. The dictionary defines ‘Perseverance’ as 1: steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc. especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles and discouragement. 2: steadfast and long continued application. It seemingly relates to an action we must take to continue on to meet our desired result or outcome.
Whilst it is important to keep my focus on finishing I am attempting let go of any expectations along the way and detach from the outcome. This means that to do this I have to trust in my own ability and to believe I can do it. To go beyond all my seeming limitations, to be clear of my Intentions will be the fuel that puts the power into me persevering with my task at hand. Making the decision to choose to embrace it ALL – my thoughts, feelings, emotions, fears, behaviours, resistance, flow, acceptance, fulfilment – All of this – the good, the bad and the ugly allows me to see it for what it is. It is simply me doing what I love. It takes self awareness to recognise when your identity (ego) comes into play and it takes trust and a willingness to persevere to truly follow your Heart. By Day 5 and 6 many of my buttons were being pushed. The voice in my head (my thoughts which aren’t real and usually based on old conditioning patterns learned from parents, society, experiences) was already telling me “I’m not good enough”, “I need to have some lessons so that I’m not wasting time and paint”, and “I should have chosen writing (at least then I would have finished my books I am currently working on).” Does this sound familiar to you too whenever you come up against resistance when working on a task or attempting to achieve a desired result? Hmmm…so whilst perseverance is often perceived as being that of a physical nature (ie. Something you push on through) I feel it’s an inner strength you are calling on and more often than not what is required is a change in your perception. When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. By looking at these thoughts that lead to feelings of inferiority and loss of confidence I was able to challenge them and I did this by welcoming them in all their glory. Not attaching any meaning to them, not making up a story or buying into them I was able to resolve the tension that I was creating. By resolving this tension in a loving way I was able to persevere beyond these seeming limitations. Putting my power and my focus back on what I can do and just paint, it was the fuel required to take me through this stage of resistance. In doing this I was able to kill the ‘judge in action’ and create the space for new ideas and information to present itself to me. Funnily, I began to just paint with my fingers and had such fun playing. This simple action took me to a place within myself that is full of Infinite possibility. We so often forget that everything we need is already within and the Higher Power, Source or Divine Inspiration within that already knows what our soul wants is there waiting to be tapped into. This is where the energy of perseverance hangs out. Perseverance builds like a muscle. Each time I am faced with an obstacle and there have been 3 or 4 already and I’ve only hit Day 30, with great self- awareness I remember I am also faced with a choice. I can revert to my old conditioning patterns (default system) or I can choose to do this differently. It’s ok if you don’t know what to do, I didn’t initially. The inspiration came when I simply allowed it all just to BE. I now had another experience of persevering all because I was prepared to feel vulnerable and acknowledge my feelings. I am now able to use this as a new reference point when the going gets tough again. When I take responsibility to be at ‘cause’ and have awareness that I create my own reality I take back my power.
Life also presents us with menial tasks that require perseverance. We need to understand that even here we still have a choice. We can ask ourselves why we are choosing to participate in (eg. A job we are not happy in) and what’s the pay off to persevere with suffering and struggle. Once again, this requires self reflection and awareness and when we have this we have choice. Usually we persevere to seemingly avoid pain or loss and that ends up being the very thing we experience. However, if the task is something like housework or doing lawns, we can choose to see the ‘sacred’ or we can choose to see the ‘profane’. Your perception of these tasks will put power into your perseverance of them or it simply won’t. Your choice.
To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson: “What you persist in becomes easier. The task hasn’t changed but your ability to do it has increased”.
Your ability is made up of courage, trust, determination, persistence, being non-judgemental and in allowance of ‘what is’, self awareness, choice, willingness – these characteristics are what supports the ‘energy of perseverance’. To remember that you are a powerful, creative Infinite Being and to remember to take action in favour of your Heart and not ‘DO’ (as this is usually based on old conditioning patterns) will enhance your journey on the path of Infinite possibility. Now, that’s worth Persevering!!!