Persistence and Motivation

Persistence

Following on from my thoughts on having mental strength in tough times, I have come to realise that persistence is key in life. It is key not only in the face of adversity but in terms of increasing one’s chance of success overall. Persistence is one mental facet that unites successful authors, artists, athletes, captains of industry and popular politicians. It is extremely rare that an individual gets to a top position in their field without putting in the hours and the effort.

In terms of creative endeavours, persistence is two things. It is the willingness to sacrifice time that could be spent on other aspects of life and it is also maintaining a positive outlook. Certain people make art, literature or music simply for the fun of the activity. Yet many wish to produce something outstanding, especially something recognized by an audience or group of consumers as original. This could be a genre-changing creation, a masterpiece, a prolific amount of credibly decent content or a combination of these things.

Motivation

In order to persist with a creative undertaking, one needs motivation. In an extremely basic sense, motivation is the expectation of reward from the effort that has to be put into a task. On a human level, it is complicated by people’s beliefs about themselves and the environment they are acting within.

A confident person will find it easier to be ambitious as they will believe their chances of success in what they are doing are higher than someone who is generally less confident. In line with the confident person’s ambitions, they are more likely to see whatever rewards they do get in a positive light, creating a feedback loop for motivation.

I realise that not everyone is an optimist, and not everyone wants to be the top of their field, or change the world (I’ve long since given up on my childhood dream of changing the world). However, it is my contention that practically everyone wants the best for themselves and those they love.

This usually involves them trying to improve their position in life, and they can do this by making the best of situations. As described in the abstract sense above, ambition is fed by confidence. Whilst generating personal confidence is tricky, it is certainly not impossible.

Small Victories

One way to build confidence and so increase motivation is to focus on the small victories one has in life. I recently won a game of chess (played through an app) against an old friend who I hadn’t beaten in years and it felt great.

Whilst not exactly like winning a gold medal at the Olympics or scoring a winning goal in a World Cup Final, it was certainly a boost for me this morning. Time will make the victory meaningless as we play more, but I will remember it as a breakthrough – it is proof that I can beat this friend of mine and a reason to persevere with my chess playing in general.

Overall, it is important to focus on the small victories on the way to the big wins. The positivity of drawing from smaller victories will save us from the dangers of negativity and pessimism which can lead to laziness, boredom and even downward spirals in mental health.

By focusing on positive outcomes from our day-to-day lives we can see that we are able to bring about achievements. This should not be underestimated as a good mental health practice and an enhancement for productivity and persistence.

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