Personal Development and Stubbornness

Personal Development or Luck

Persistence.  All great advances in our lives require us to plow through.   The greatest people of this world, with few exceptions, attained greatness , because they would not give up even in the face of overwhelming odds.  Great business men, artists, authors, politicians, humanitarians, heroes, and explorers achieved greatness by perseverance.   Sure, there are a few people who attained fantastic levels of achievement, because of luck, or because their family name gave them an advantage.  Of course there are those who were born into greatness rather than earning it.  Given that, I must ask… Where are you?

Are you one of those who were born with that silver spoon?  Do you have all advantages piled before you, granite blocks from which to build your castle?  If the answer is yes, then by all means get out there and reach levels of success to be envied by those of us without those advantages.   But, if you are like the majority of us, you must persevere if you have hope of achieving the greatness you so want to obtain.

Perhaps there are those who are satisfied with mediocrity.  I believe that satisfaction  for just getting by is not truth, but rather an acceptance.  People accept the little that they have because they have no hope to achieve more.  They are accepting of being a part of the crowd not because of noble reasons, but because society, family, teachers, and even friends have helped  to shape this acceptance.  They do not have acceptance because it makes them happy.  They have chosen to be happy, because they see no hope of more.

Happiness and Success

Do not think that I have put fame and fortune above happiness.  Do not think that I am saying fight to the top.  All opposition beware.  No that is not me.  Here is my motto for balancing drive and happiness.

“Be happy with who you are, but never be satisfied.”

You see, unlike those who have accepted where they are in life, and have chosen to be happy in their current state for lack of hope, my vision is greater.  I am happy today, because of the great blessings in my life, the success I have had, the acceptance of who and what I am, and because of family and friends, but also I am happy because I see a greater future as well.  I am happy because I have a greater hope for greater things tomorrow in life and in death.  I am happy that I do not have to be satisfied with what I am today.  That fact that I am not satisfied and that I have hope for more is an energy builder for me.  I am closer today than achieving my dreams than I was a year ago.  A year from now I will be closer still.

I can continue down the road of personal development and I can chose that direction.  I can work to shape my future into my dreams and visions rather than accepting my station in life. Will I achieve all of my goals?  Yes I will.  I may have to make adjustments in life.  I may need to refocus my goals and adapt to circumstances.  These are not quality compromises, these are the strategic decisions that I make to grab onto opportunities and avoid unforeseen pitfalls.  I cannot see the future, so why should I not expect to adapt and change my vision?  I have been working too hard in my life to gain what I have to cast it all away because I confused stubbornness for persistence.

Battles or Opportunities

The difference between stubbornness and persistence is small in form yet a chasm of great magnitude in the walk of life.

  • I look at stubbornness as planting your feet, never falling back or altering course to achieve a goal.  Persistence is never quitting, but being willing to adjust in order to make forward progress.
  • Stubbornness is not yielding, while persistence is always finding a way around.
  • Stubbornness plows through and persistence rolls around.
  • Stubbornness is a force to be reckoned with; persistence is a river that adjusts for the lay of the land but always arrives at the ocean.
  • Stubbornness boasts of facing any one or thing head on.  Persistence does not boast,  because she is too busy moving forward.
  • Stubbornness is a mind set in stone.  Persistence is a mind made of granite, never to be broken but to be shaped by the master craftsman.

Stubbornness is not a skill.  You may cover a lot of miles with stubbornness, but the cost is too high in the long run.

Find joy in your life today, not because you are satisfied, but because you are blessed with what you have and because you have opportunities before you to achieve greatness.  Problems are opportunities to the wise and battles to the stubborn.

Are you looking for battles or opportunities?

(If you are looking for battles then you probably need some self awareness.  Review Self Awareness a 5 Step Process.)

Author: Jeff Harris

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