Tag Archives: persistence

August 8, 2025 · 8:41 AM

Damn the Torpedoes! Full Speed Ahead!

Have you ever been excited about something and had somebody you love and admire shoot it down? Let me tell you, it stings. It bites. It deflates you, doesn’t it? Yeah, but don’t allow anyone to steal your dream!

They may have meant well, but they couldn’t see what you envisioned. They didn’t grasp your concept or idea. Then what? Your resolve wavers, and your hard work and steadfastness quake.

So what do you do? Do you throw in the towel and just give up? No, for crying out loud! Perseverance is a virtue. Where’s your stick-to-it-iveness? You have it. Haven’t you burned the midnight oil long enough to come this far? Okay, so maybe they didn’t get it. Time to regroup; dig a little deeper. Re-examine your goal and ask yourself what it is that you feel. What is the message that you’re trying to convey?

I tend to say a prayer. I ask God to continue guiding me. I want to express the message closest to my heart and share it with others. Listen, I’ve come too far to give up! And so have you! Sure, it may be a little scary, but so what? Acronym of FEAR: Face Everything and Run, or Face Everything and Rise. I chose the latter.

I know this is not always the case. At times, it does a body good to cry and let out emotions. Yes, I, too, have meltdowns on occasion. But if you can stick to your goal, do all you know to do with unmatched determination. When oppositions come (and they usually will), you won’t easily break. Time to reflect is all. Plant where you’re rooted. Bend like a palm tree, change directions if you must. If you feel you are to do a thing, whether people get you or not, stay the course. Don’t let others defeat you with their words or the looks on their faces! What am I saying? Face your giant! (But don’t forget your slingshot.)

BE encouraged.

“Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”

“Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” ~ James 1:2-4 KJV

How determined are you?

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Filed under dreams, Perseverance

Tagged as determination, dream, encouragement, goals, hope, Inspirational, James 1:2-4, motivation, oppositions, Perseverance, persistence, quote David Farragut, reflection, self-belief, steadfastness

January 4, 2015 · 11:42 PM

STICK-TO-ITIVENESS

I sat by a friend and glanced at her phone which had a word for the day. The word was “persistence.” I like to link it to the phrase, stick-to-itiveness.

I am well acquainted with persistence. Synonym: tenacity, grit, endurance, unflagging. Even so, this doesn’t mean that I find persistence an easy feat. It takes work, and you sometimes have to be like a dog with a bone.

Then I watched an oldie-but-goodie 1962 movie, The Miracle Worker, about Helen Keller. I’d seen this movie many years ago, but I don’t remember it having such a great impact on me as it did this time. We know the story of Helen Keller and all her accomplishments in overcoming great adversity, despite being deaf, blind, and mute, thanks to Anne Sullivan, her exceptional teacher. But Anne Sullivan faced many challenges at a young age as well.

Anne suffered from health problems of her own, growing up in an impoverished home. At a young age, her sight was severely damaged from an eye disease, and at the age of eight, her mother died. She became a ward of the state and underwent many botched surgeries before her vision was partially restored. Anne eventually graduated from a school for the blind. As she sought employment, she obviously became the perfect teacher to Helen Keller.

She never faltered in her belief in Helen, believing “the chick has to come out of its shell sometime.” Anne’s way was to teach while disciplining, because “obedience without understanding is blindness, too.”

Anne’s persistence and determination taught a seven-year-old deaf, blind, and mute child to blossom and communicate with the world. Later on in life, she helped Helen to write her biography.

What remarkable wit of the teacher and the student. What if Anne had given up? So many obstacles to overcome, the endless challenges to not throw in the towel. Anne saw Helen’s parents as spoiling her negative behaviors with rewards, which only pacified her, ultimately doing more harm than good. Wouldn’t it have been easier for Anne not to have cared? Give up? Leave? Instead, Anne’s persistence brought help to the helpless, light into darkness, and knowledge to ignorance. Against all odds, they both changed the course of history. They overcame defeat and did not quit.

That’s the kind of person I want to be. How about you?

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Filed under persistence

Tagged as Anne Sullivan, blind, deaf, determination, Helen Keller, mute, perserverance, persistence

December 16, 2014 · 7:43 PM

For Crying Out Loud!

Have you ever been excited about something, and somebody who you love and admire shoots it down? Let me tell you, it stings. Bites. Deflates you, doesn’t it? Don’t allow anyone to steal your dream!

They may have meant well, but they just couldn’t see what you envisioned. They didn’t grasp your concept or idea. Then what? Your resolve wavers, and your hard work and steadfastness quake.

So what do you do? Do you throw in the towel and just give up? No, for crying out loud! Perseverance is a virtue. Where’s your stick-to-it-iveness? You have it. Haven’t you burned the midnight hour long enough to come this far? Okay, so maybe they didn’t get it. Time to regroup; dig a little deeper. Re-examine your goal and ask yourself what it is that you feel. What is the message you’re trying to convey?

I suppose that with me, I tend to say a prayer, asking God to continue guiding me to express the message closest to my heart and share it with others.

I am reminded of the lyrics to a song: Don’t cry out loud, just keep it inside, and learn how to hide your feelings… http://youtu.be/OWiXyAAw1Ek?t=2m49s If only it were that easy …!

I know this is not always the case. At times, it does well to cry and release emotions. Yes, I, too, have meltdowns on occasion. But if you can stick to your goal, doing all you know to do with a determination second to none, when opposition comes (and they usually will), you won’t easily break. Time to reflect is all. Plant where you’re rooted. Bend like a palm tree, change directions if you must. If you feel you are to do a thing, whether people get you or not, stay the course. Don’t let others defeat you with their words or the looks on their faces! What am I saying? Face your giant! (But don’t forget your slingshot.)

Incidentally, if you’re at a distance, I can’t really see your expressions without my glasses on anyway!

How determined are you?