Take a moment right now, think, reflect, and consider the men in your life and the men of the past that you have respect for, ask yourself what is a consistent thread that all these men have. 

Chances are they will be dependable, honest, safe, respectable, and many other attributes, but here is the thing, none of these qualities are just handed out at the local charity. No, these core qualities are developed, earned, and built. The men who you respect have held onto their values, they have said no and yes when appropriate and stuck to their word. 

After observing and seeing those common threads what I want to point out to you is something I believe is important. These men, in general, have worked hard to gain, grow, and maintain these attributes. This is where it is essential not to give up and persevere. No matter the arena of life it is always admirable to fight for what you believe in. 

I remember back when I was in high school, I had a unique relationship with some anarchist punk types. These guys were the polar opposite of who I was at that point in life. The thing was though we had healthy mutual respect for each other because we avidly held to our beliefs and were proponents of taking action. This taught me at a very early age that sticking to my ideas and being passionate did not mean I had to isolate myself from people who thought otherwise... but I digress... let's get back to perseverance. 

Once the connection has been made that admirable and respectable attributes have been fought for, developed, and pursued. From that point, we can talk about the necessity of perseverance. 

Perseverance's definition is as follows, "Steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success." So with that established, I want to relay to you the utmost value and need for being perseverant in life. 

Even though you cannot buy happiness, integrity, or your dreams, choosing not give up and stay steadfast will take you further than you could ever anticipate. Perseverance is the defining difference between a professional athlete and the amateur; it is what separates those who write a book about achieving their dreams and those who stand by in jealousy. 

The oddest thing about it all though is perseverance is a commodity handed out to everyone unbiasedly at birth. There is no socio-economic attachment to the amount of quantity you possess of perseverance. Everyone, I repeat, everyone has the ability to tap into the river of perseverance. It is just some choose to utilize it, and others don't. Anyway, I thought I would just write down a couple of ways to be steadfast. 

1} Know the signs.

Have you ever driven through a city or country where you are unfamiliar with where you are headed? What do you depend upon so that you know you are headed in the right direction? The road signs! (Or maybe your GPS HAHA but bear with me in this analogy.) If you did not know to look for these signs the amount of difficulty to get to your destination would increase significantly. 

So, what is the signs of life that appear to tell you when is it the time to be perseverant? 

Here are a few.

- The desire to quit. If at any point you just want to give up just keep going. If you want some motivation in this area a great resource is the book "Think and grow rich." There are many great examples in that book that could benefit you profoundly. 
- The feeling of hopelessness. When you start to feel like life is hopeless, you have a choice to see it as a motivator or killer. 
- Pain. Think about working out at the gym, if the moment you felt pain you gave up, then you would never get into shape, lose fat, or gain muscle. Pain is the precursor to gain. 

For myself the pivotal moments when I feel like I want to quit, I am hopeless, or just consumed by pain, if I take a moment, assess my situation and realize what is going on. Then I feel a new sense of empowerment come over me and I keep pushing. 

2} Self-awareness is your ignitor. 

When you can stop, take a breath, and assess why you are feeling what you are feeling, this will empower you and give you the insight needed to navigate your current status. 

Sometime it could mean re-adjusting where you thought you were headed. Other times after checking in with yourself and realizing the reason you want to give up is you think that if you succeed your friends will reject you, from that place you can confront that lie and then push on with more perseverance than ever before. 

Think of self-awareness like the gauge on a fuel tank. It will give you the data needed if you should stop and fill up or keep going. 

I hope these two simple tips help get your brain thinking about the topic in a new way. If there are other ways, you have found to help yourself be perseverant take a moment and share the comments below! 

Thanks for reading. Cheers.

Timothy